Forgive me, but I am weary of the church.
Possibly I need to see a therapist. I expect a good one could help me sort out all the reasons for my persistent discontent. My feelings run up and down a range from sympathetic disappointment to outraged disgust.
Understand now, I have been a "churchman" for the past 45 years! It stands to reason that much of my disillusionment arises from my own failures and inconsistencies.
Still, the older I grow the more uneasy I become about the whole church enterprise as I observe it today.
There is no doubt that my feelings and my angst arise from my daily experience in the city among very poor people. But these emotions also come as a result of my movement in and among the church and church people.
Then, I must admit, it is not really the people of the church individually, at least not for the most part (!), with whom I have an ongoing beef.
It is something about how the church determines to use its resources, including its time, its talent, its public voice and its material wealth. My observations around these matters trouble me greatly, especially in view of the reality facing so many poor, struggling people in this country and around the world.
Rock stars, actors and sports personalities have more to say and are up to more in terms of actively addressing the issues facing suffering people than are church leaders and church folks.
This is not to say that there is no interest in the church about these challenges. It is just that the church spins its wheels and so quickly loses its focus. Its considerable creativity and energy ends up, more often than not, being spent on itself and its members.
Why is this the case? How can the church remain so immobilized in the face of so much human misery, much of which could be alleviated with just a little more effort?
So, today we will march off to church one more time, won't we?
What will happen there?
What will be said? What will we sing? About what will we pray?
Where will our tithes and offerings go?
What will it all matter?
We claim to be there to "worship God," to "praise God's name."
But, what will our God think? How will God regard our exercises today in view of what God knows about this world?
Meditation for today: Amos 5:18-24
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Saturday, June 11, 2005
Blogging and Vacation
For the next 10 days I will be out-of-town and basically away from civilization!
In preparation I have written several posts in advance and I have selected some material from "guest" bloggers. I know that you will find the ideas of these guests stimulating.
What follows is an article that appeared in the Friday, June 10, 2005 edition of The New York Times written by columnist Paul Krugman.
(I know, I know. Some folks who live south of Kentucky believe this paper is in fact "the Devil's rag." I find it to be a great paper that attempts to report in depth on issues that matter in the urban context.)
What Krugman argues here is not good news for inner city communities where low-income citizens live.
Let everyone know what you think of it and if you feel the urge, pass it along to others!
______________________________________
June 10, 2005
Losing Our Country
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Baby boomers like me grew up in a relatively equal society. In the 1960's America was a place in which very few people were extremely wealthy, many blue-collar workers earned wages that placed them comfortably in the middle class, and working families could expect steadily rising living standards and a reasonable degree of economic security.
But as The Times's series on class in America reminds us, that was another country. The middle-class society I grew up in no longer exists.
Working families have seen little if any progress over the past 30 years. Adjusted for inflation, the income of the median family doubled between 1947 and 1973. But it rose only 22 percent from 1973 to 2003, and much of that gain was the result of wives' entering the paid labor force or working longer hours, not rising wages.
Meanwhile, economic security is a thing of the past: year-to-year fluctuations in the incomes of working families are far larger than they were a generation ago. All it takes is a bit of bad luck in employment or health to plunge a family that seems solidly middle-class into poverty.
But the wealthy have done very well indeed. Since 1973 the average income of the top 1 percent of Americans has doubled, and the income of the top 0.1 percent has tripled.
Why is this happening? I'll have more to say on that another day, but for now let me just point out that middle-class America didn't emerge by accident. It was created by what has been called the Great Compression of incomes that took place during World War II, and sustained for a generation by social norms that favored equality, strong labor unions and progressive taxation. Since the 1970's, all of those sustaining forces have lost their power.
Since 1980 in particular, U.S. government policies have consistently favored the wealthy at the expense of working families - and under the current administration, that favoritism has become extreme and relentless. From tax cuts that favor the rich to bankruptcy "reform" that punishes the unlucky, almost every domestic policy seems intended to accelerate our march back to the robber baron era.
It's not a pretty picture - which is why right-wing partisans try so hard to discredit anyone who tries to explain to the public what's going on.
These partisans rely in part on obfuscation: shaping, slicing and selectively presenting data in an attempt to mislead. For example, it's a plain fact that the Bush tax cuts heavily favor the rich, especially those who derive most of their income from inherited wealth. Yet this year's Economic Report of the President, in a bravura demonstration of how to lie with statistics, claimed that the cuts "increased the overall progressivity of the federal tax system."
The partisans also rely in part on scare tactics, insisting that any attempt to limit inequality would undermine economic incentives and reduce all of us to shared misery. That claim ignores the fact of U.S. economic success after World War II. It also ignores the lesson we should have learned from recent corporate scandals: sometimes the prospect of great wealth for those who succeed provides an incentive not for high performance, but for fraud.
Above all, the partisans engage in name-calling. To suggest that sustaining programs like Social Security, which protects working Americans from economic risk, should have priority over tax cuts for the rich is to practice "class warfare." To show concern over the growing inequality is to engage in the "politics of envy."
But the real reasons to worry about the explosion of inequality since the 1970's have nothing to do with envy. The fact is that working families aren't sharing in the economy's growth, and face growing economic insecurity. And there's good reason to believe that a society in which most people can reasonably be considered middle class is a better society - and more likely to be a functioning democracy - than one in which there are great extremes of wealth and poverty.
Reversing the rise in inequality and economic insecurity won't be easy: the middle-class society we have lost emerged only after the country was shaken by depression and war. But we can make a start by calling attention to the politicians who systematically make things worse in catering to their contributors. Never mind that straw man, the politics of envy. Let's try to do something about the politics of greed.
E-mail: krugman@nytimes.com
In preparation I have written several posts in advance and I have selected some material from "guest" bloggers. I know that you will find the ideas of these guests stimulating.
What follows is an article that appeared in the Friday, June 10, 2005 edition of The New York Times written by columnist Paul Krugman.
(I know, I know. Some folks who live south of Kentucky believe this paper is in fact "the Devil's rag." I find it to be a great paper that attempts to report in depth on issues that matter in the urban context.)
What Krugman argues here is not good news for inner city communities where low-income citizens live.
Let everyone know what you think of it and if you feel the urge, pass it along to others!
______________________________________
June 10, 2005
Losing Our Country
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Baby boomers like me grew up in a relatively equal society. In the 1960's America was a place in which very few people were extremely wealthy, many blue-collar workers earned wages that placed them comfortably in the middle class, and working families could expect steadily rising living standards and a reasonable degree of economic security.
But as The Times's series on class in America reminds us, that was another country. The middle-class society I grew up in no longer exists.
Working families have seen little if any progress over the past 30 years. Adjusted for inflation, the income of the median family doubled between 1947 and 1973. But it rose only 22 percent from 1973 to 2003, and much of that gain was the result of wives' entering the paid labor force or working longer hours, not rising wages.
Meanwhile, economic security is a thing of the past: year-to-year fluctuations in the incomes of working families are far larger than they were a generation ago. All it takes is a bit of bad luck in employment or health to plunge a family that seems solidly middle-class into poverty.
But the wealthy have done very well indeed. Since 1973 the average income of the top 1 percent of Americans has doubled, and the income of the top 0.1 percent has tripled.
Why is this happening? I'll have more to say on that another day, but for now let me just point out that middle-class America didn't emerge by accident. It was created by what has been called the Great Compression of incomes that took place during World War II, and sustained for a generation by social norms that favored equality, strong labor unions and progressive taxation. Since the 1970's, all of those sustaining forces have lost their power.
Since 1980 in particular, U.S. government policies have consistently favored the wealthy at the expense of working families - and under the current administration, that favoritism has become extreme and relentless. From tax cuts that favor the rich to bankruptcy "reform" that punishes the unlucky, almost every domestic policy seems intended to accelerate our march back to the robber baron era.
It's not a pretty picture - which is why right-wing partisans try so hard to discredit anyone who tries to explain to the public what's going on.
These partisans rely in part on obfuscation: shaping, slicing and selectively presenting data in an attempt to mislead. For example, it's a plain fact that the Bush tax cuts heavily favor the rich, especially those who derive most of their income from inherited wealth. Yet this year's Economic Report of the President, in a bravura demonstration of how to lie with statistics, claimed that the cuts "increased the overall progressivity of the federal tax system."
The partisans also rely in part on scare tactics, insisting that any attempt to limit inequality would undermine economic incentives and reduce all of us to shared misery. That claim ignores the fact of U.S. economic success after World War II. It also ignores the lesson we should have learned from recent corporate scandals: sometimes the prospect of great wealth for those who succeed provides an incentive not for high performance, but for fraud.
Above all, the partisans engage in name-calling. To suggest that sustaining programs like Social Security, which protects working Americans from economic risk, should have priority over tax cuts for the rich is to practice "class warfare." To show concern over the growing inequality is to engage in the "politics of envy."
But the real reasons to worry about the explosion of inequality since the 1970's have nothing to do with envy. The fact is that working families aren't sharing in the economy's growth, and face growing economic insecurity. And there's good reason to believe that a society in which most people can reasonably be considered middle class is a better society - and more likely to be a functioning democracy - than one in which there are great extremes of wealth and poverty.
Reversing the rise in inequality and economic insecurity won't be easy: the middle-class society we have lost emerged only after the country was shaken by depression and war. But we can make a start by calling attention to the politicians who systematically make things worse in catering to their contributors. Never mind that straw man, the politics of envy. Let's try to do something about the politics of greed.
E-mail: krugman@nytimes.com
Friday, June 10, 2005
Collaborate Or Die
On a small bulletin board in my office I have posted a full page ad from a magazine. The photo captures a smartly dressed man, briefcase in tow, standing on a busy street in a downtown area.
He holds up a sign much like a protester or a street preacher might placard about.
The message on his sign is bold, simple and right to the point:
"Collaborate or DIE"
Ironic, don't you think? At a time when radical individualism enjoys what may be an unsurpassed heyday in our culture, the prophets of the world of profit call us to rethink how we are living.
The message made its way to every major front page in the nation last Wednesday with General Motors' grim announcement that it would phase out 25,000 jobs by the end of 2008. Many of these jobs will involve retirement. Still, the point is they will not be replaced as GM seeks to stabilize its core business.
Interesting that one of the challenges GM faces and that drives their decision on workforce reduction is the increasing costs associated with health insurance for its employees. GM spends approximately $1,500 per auto unit produced on health care costs for its workforce.
The layoff represents about 22% of the auto makers hourly workforce.
The nation needs GM to survive. GM provides health insurance coverage to 1.1 million Americans and is the nation's largest private sector provider.
We are arriving at a moment in our national life when large corporations like GM will likely begin to ask why we haven't made more progress on establishing a national health insurance plan like every other industrialized nation in the world.
With jobs being outsourced daily across the country and the costs of health insurance and health care escalating rapidly, it is clear new approaches must be formulated and put into place.
The economic forces affecting American business interests obviously impact low-income residents of our inner cities.
We need to find a new way.
Collaboration comes to mind.
He holds up a sign much like a protester or a street preacher might placard about.
The message on his sign is bold, simple and right to the point:
"Collaborate or DIE"
Ironic, don't you think? At a time when radical individualism enjoys what may be an unsurpassed heyday in our culture, the prophets of the world of profit call us to rethink how we are living.
The message made its way to every major front page in the nation last Wednesday with General Motors' grim announcement that it would phase out 25,000 jobs by the end of 2008. Many of these jobs will involve retirement. Still, the point is they will not be replaced as GM seeks to stabilize its core business.
Interesting that one of the challenges GM faces and that drives their decision on workforce reduction is the increasing costs associated with health insurance for its employees. GM spends approximately $1,500 per auto unit produced on health care costs for its workforce.
The layoff represents about 22% of the auto makers hourly workforce.
The nation needs GM to survive. GM provides health insurance coverage to 1.1 million Americans and is the nation's largest private sector provider.
We are arriving at a moment in our national life when large corporations like GM will likely begin to ask why we haven't made more progress on establishing a national health insurance plan like every other industrialized nation in the world.
With jobs being outsourced daily across the country and the costs of health insurance and health care escalating rapidly, it is clear new approaches must be formulated and put into place.
The economic forces affecting American business interests obviously impact low-income residents of our inner cities.
We need to find a new way.
Collaboration comes to mind.
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Neighborliness
Cultivating new hope and healthier lives and living conditions in poverty ravaged inner city neighborhoods depends on the formation of significant, enduring relationships among residents.
In neighborhoods where people know each other life works better.
The concept sounds almost too simple. Yet, a growing body of empirical data and our own experiences here in Dallas confirm this important truth.
One of the tragic deficiencies of poor communities has to do with the disappearance of institutional life. Middle class neighborhoods take many human connections for granted. Active PTAs, organized Crime Watch groups, homeowners associations, service clubs, public schools doubling as community hubs, churches and other organizations remain active in many, if not most, middle class communities.
In most low-income neighborhoods you'll be hard pressed to find any evidence of organized community life. Churches are everywhere in these areas, but most are "drive in" congregations that enjoy little meaningful contact with the people living around them. Local barber shops and beauty salons, once the center of lots of community life, have simply disappeared in many parts of town. The grocery stores are gone.
In many neighborhoods even the pubs have disappeared to be replaced by package stores. Unfortunately, the sort of unorganized "community life" that tends to spring up around these establishments is usually not very desirable.
Social scientists are producing a growing body of evidence that tells us social capital and community connectedness are likely key elements in any community's quest for better health and well-being.
Communities possessing a sense of choice and self-determination report better health outcomes. People living in neighborhoods that are organized and politically engaged enjoy greater feelings of stability, hope, power and progress. Notions of collective efficacy can be powerful psychological forces fueling change and increased involvement in the community at numerous levels.
Connected communities just work better, no matter what their socio-economic status.
Predictably, faith-based approaches to community outreach that focus solely on individuals, with no or little thought of relationships inside target communities, bypass significant opportunities to improve life for everyone. The growing emphasis on the importance of the individual as the primary unit of significance for the church and the nation is a major liability in any quest for community renewal.
To renew communities the focus must shift to the creation and maintenance of dynamic connections among people who live near one another.
Building strong neighborhoods in impoverished areas depends on the rediscovery of the importance of neighborliness.
It really is that simple.
In neighborhoods where people know each other life works better.
The concept sounds almost too simple. Yet, a growing body of empirical data and our own experiences here in Dallas confirm this important truth.
One of the tragic deficiencies of poor communities has to do with the disappearance of institutional life. Middle class neighborhoods take many human connections for granted. Active PTAs, organized Crime Watch groups, homeowners associations, service clubs, public schools doubling as community hubs, churches and other organizations remain active in many, if not most, middle class communities.
In most low-income neighborhoods you'll be hard pressed to find any evidence of organized community life. Churches are everywhere in these areas, but most are "drive in" congregations that enjoy little meaningful contact with the people living around them. Local barber shops and beauty salons, once the center of lots of community life, have simply disappeared in many parts of town. The grocery stores are gone.
In many neighborhoods even the pubs have disappeared to be replaced by package stores. Unfortunately, the sort of unorganized "community life" that tends to spring up around these establishments is usually not very desirable.
Social scientists are producing a growing body of evidence that tells us social capital and community connectedness are likely key elements in any community's quest for better health and well-being.
Communities possessing a sense of choice and self-determination report better health outcomes. People living in neighborhoods that are organized and politically engaged enjoy greater feelings of stability, hope, power and progress. Notions of collective efficacy can be powerful psychological forces fueling change and increased involvement in the community at numerous levels.
Connected communities just work better, no matter what their socio-economic status.
Predictably, faith-based approaches to community outreach that focus solely on individuals, with no or little thought of relationships inside target communities, bypass significant opportunities to improve life for everyone. The growing emphasis on the importance of the individual as the primary unit of significance for the church and the nation is a major liability in any quest for community renewal.
To renew communities the focus must shift to the creation and maintenance of dynamic connections among people who live near one another.
Building strong neighborhoods in impoverished areas depends on the rediscovery of the importance of neighborliness.
It really is that simple.
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Working on Poverty. . .Aiming for Justice
The tension existing between the impulse to respond to pressing human need with charitable compassion and the desire to change the system that so often creates the need is very real for people concerned about poverty and its impact on inner city communities.
Most people who act against the symptoms of poverty move most naturally toward charity.
I think I understand why that is true. Acts of charity and compassion usually seem obvious. If a person is hungry, compassion provides food. If someone is ill, charity calls for a doctor.
Usually, charity is not too complicated. It can be demanding, but it is seldom all that complex.
Providing charity feels good.
If I can meet a need, lift a load or ease some pain, the benefit flows in two directions, doesn't it? After all, "it is more blessed to give than to receive."
Forgive me, but my cynicism needs to be heard at this point.
Charity is also a very nifty way for people with economic power to maintain control of that power while performing good work that often leads to their being recognized as good people in a community. Charity, on its own, seldom, if ever, challenges existing power structures, even when these power structures are responsible for much of the poverty being addressed by donor largesse.
So, it is not hard to see why most of us gravitate toward charitable responses to poverty in inner city communities.
Philanthropic institutions, such as local, state and national foundations, both public and private; usually don't think "outside the box" of charity. For example, large foundations seldom cooperate with one another to develop community-wide strategies for attacking poverty. Foundations normally do not consult with community-based organizations to seek counsel on just how resources could best be allocated. Rather, the community groups usually try to figure out what foundations want to fund and then tailor requests in that direction.
The unintended consequence of a good deal of our charitable activity is the creation of an unhealthy dependence among the poor on services that do not lead people out of their pressing need.
Paternalism becomes a cruel structural reality when charity continues in a thoughtless manner.
We know that charity has its place. We also are very aware of the limits of its benefit to people who live in poverty.
So, what's a non-profit to do?
All I can tell you is where we are here in Dallas.
Several years ago the question of a good friend prompted us to define more carefully what it is that we actually do as a community building organization.
Here's a summary of what we came up with.
1. We do a lot of "Good Samaritan" stuff. You can read the story in Luke 10. If you are found stretched out on an East or South Dallas sidewalk, we will reach out to you, stay with you, and address your needs as best we can for as long as we need to. Your only responsibility is to keep breathing! Much of this work feels like charity. We intend for it to go further for your benefit and for that of your community.
2. We focus on your talents. Once you are up on your feet, we will remind you that you have something to contribute to the community. You are a person of talent, ability and great potential. This is the parable of the talents (Matthew 25). Here you will be offered training. You will be taught how to play the game of Dallas by the current rules. If you indicate that you would rather take your talents and bury them in a local crack house, we will challenge you to re-think your plans. If you don't, we will show you to the door, but we will leave it open for your return if you so choose.
3. We challenge unfair rules. We know from experience and observation that the rules aren't fair for everyone. Like Jesus, we have been known to turn over a few tables, make an angry speech or two and call rule-makers to task (John 2). We do this with the community and among the community.
Everyone likes us when we do number one! Like I say, charity is a "feel good" deal. Lots of volunteers show up and lots of people are helped temporarily.
Number two is harder, but again, people love it, especially those who are learning to identify and maximize their talents. We witness movement to better lives and hope for improved futures. Business people love us at this point.
Number three makes people nervous. Some folks tell us that we should leave this alone. It is hard, complicated, tedious, time-consuming work. The payoff is slow coming. Often the best we can do is raise questions and hopefully educate the people involved.
In this spectrum we do our work and find our purpose.
Poverty is a cruel and evil reality. Thoughtful, comprehensive strategies are demanded.
Something beyond charity must be our goal.
Most people who act against the symptoms of poverty move most naturally toward charity.
I think I understand why that is true. Acts of charity and compassion usually seem obvious. If a person is hungry, compassion provides food. If someone is ill, charity calls for a doctor.
Usually, charity is not too complicated. It can be demanding, but it is seldom all that complex.
Providing charity feels good.
If I can meet a need, lift a load or ease some pain, the benefit flows in two directions, doesn't it? After all, "it is more blessed to give than to receive."
Forgive me, but my cynicism needs to be heard at this point.
Charity is also a very nifty way for people with economic power to maintain control of that power while performing good work that often leads to their being recognized as good people in a community. Charity, on its own, seldom, if ever, challenges existing power structures, even when these power structures are responsible for much of the poverty being addressed by donor largesse.
So, it is not hard to see why most of us gravitate toward charitable responses to poverty in inner city communities.
Philanthropic institutions, such as local, state and national foundations, both public and private; usually don't think "outside the box" of charity. For example, large foundations seldom cooperate with one another to develop community-wide strategies for attacking poverty. Foundations normally do not consult with community-based organizations to seek counsel on just how resources could best be allocated. Rather, the community groups usually try to figure out what foundations want to fund and then tailor requests in that direction.
The unintended consequence of a good deal of our charitable activity is the creation of an unhealthy dependence among the poor on services that do not lead people out of their pressing need.
Paternalism becomes a cruel structural reality when charity continues in a thoughtless manner.
We know that charity has its place. We also are very aware of the limits of its benefit to people who live in poverty.
So, what's a non-profit to do?
All I can tell you is where we are here in Dallas.
Several years ago the question of a good friend prompted us to define more carefully what it is that we actually do as a community building organization.
Here's a summary of what we came up with.
1. We do a lot of "Good Samaritan" stuff. You can read the story in Luke 10. If you are found stretched out on an East or South Dallas sidewalk, we will reach out to you, stay with you, and address your needs as best we can for as long as we need to. Your only responsibility is to keep breathing! Much of this work feels like charity. We intend for it to go further for your benefit and for that of your community.
2. We focus on your talents. Once you are up on your feet, we will remind you that you have something to contribute to the community. You are a person of talent, ability and great potential. This is the parable of the talents (Matthew 25). Here you will be offered training. You will be taught how to play the game of Dallas by the current rules. If you indicate that you would rather take your talents and bury them in a local crack house, we will challenge you to re-think your plans. If you don't, we will show you to the door, but we will leave it open for your return if you so choose.
3. We challenge unfair rules. We know from experience and observation that the rules aren't fair for everyone. Like Jesus, we have been known to turn over a few tables, make an angry speech or two and call rule-makers to task (John 2). We do this with the community and among the community.
Everyone likes us when we do number one! Like I say, charity is a "feel good" deal. Lots of volunteers show up and lots of people are helped temporarily.
Number two is harder, but again, people love it, especially those who are learning to identify and maximize their talents. We witness movement to better lives and hope for improved futures. Business people love us at this point.
Number three makes people nervous. Some folks tell us that we should leave this alone. It is hard, complicated, tedious, time-consuming work. The payoff is slow coming. Often the best we can do is raise questions and hopefully educate the people involved.
In this spectrum we do our work and find our purpose.
Poverty is a cruel and evil reality. Thoughtful, comprehensive strategies are demanded.
Something beyond charity must be our goal.
Monday, June 06, 2005
Charity or Justice?
People who work with "the urban poor" often face confusing choices.
What I have in mind here are not so much the tactical options that arise as a problem or situation is confronted. However, the higher level choices I want to consider here do affect tactical decisions dramatically.
Stated simply, what do low-income persons and neighborhoods need most? Charity or justice?
Most of the inner city enterprises I know best usually drop down on the side of charity, compassion and a smattering of education as empowerment.
I know we administer quite a lot of charity here at Central Dallas Ministries.
We distribute hundreds of thousands of pounds of food stuff annually.
We offer free and extremely reduced cost medical, dental and pharmacy care to thousands of patients.
We provide free or extremely reduced cost legal representation.
We have increasingly sophisticated approaches to employment training, technology education and job placement.
We offer after-school programming and summer day camping for children.
We are building affordable housing units and have plans for many more in the future.
We have homelessness on our radar screen thanks to recent developments in Dallas.
The list could go on and on.
When I look at our work, I feel two emotions.
First, a warmth of gratitude at the good that is being done by some of the best people I have ever known.
Second, a persistent fear that we are in danger of missing an even higher calling.
Don't misunderstand. Compassion is important. At times, charity is the best and only remedy to apply.
Jesus' story of the "good Samaritan" comes to mind.
The man left for dead on the side of the road didn't need a meeting of the city council! He needed medical attention, a ride to town and someone to stop and simply care about him in his dire situation of distress.
Compassion usually works best after the facts of life have played themselves out in someone's experience. Charity feels right when offered and when received in a pinch!
But, compassion is seldom enough, at least not for the long haul.
The city has taught me to read Jesus' story of the Samaritan differently. My new reading wouldn't change the facts of the story.
However, I might add a follow up commentary.
The story makes me wonder how many other people routinely experienced the same kind of mistreatment on that road? How much more charity work did that road create for passersby? Who was responsible for safety on that stretch of highway? What could have been done to make it safer?
In other words, how could the system have made that road better for everyone?
I know that was not the point Jesus was trying to make. He was trying to teach a lesson about what it means to be a neighbor.
I guess I am asking what does it mean to be a real community that sets things up for the benefit and good of as many people as possible?
We seem to have countless outposts of charity. While I am glad about this in one way, in another I wonder what this really says about our society?
In addition to charity and compassion, we need, we must work for justice.
Is the best approach for the long haul to continue to provide tons of supplemental food for hard working families who do not earn enough to support themselves? Or, would it be better to ask why there is such a shortfall, especially in a nation of wealth like ours?
Should we continue to develop community-based medical outposts, complete with pharmacies for the hard working families we serve who do not receive the benefit of health insurance coverage from their employers? Or, would it be better to organize around this disparity in order to seek change?
Is it really a good thing to work with community groups in the inner city to organize neighborhood cleanups and patrols? Or, do we need to organize to compel city government to apply code enforcement in our neighborhoods like it is expected in more affluent parts of town?
Should we continue to visit people who end up in prison because of the very addictions we seek to address on a daily basis? Or, would it be better for us to ask why so many, mainly low-income men and women who need treatment, get prison instead?
At the end of this day the answer likely needs to include both compassion and justice. There is and will always be a place for charity and compassion. We won't get it right, so we will need to compensate.
Having said that, I feel the need to press hard against our prevailing tendency to do only acts of charity while never thinking of ways to embed justice, fairness and equality in the systems that guide our communities.
[More to come on this.]
What I have in mind here are not so much the tactical options that arise as a problem or situation is confronted. However, the higher level choices I want to consider here do affect tactical decisions dramatically.
Stated simply, what do low-income persons and neighborhoods need most? Charity or justice?
Most of the inner city enterprises I know best usually drop down on the side of charity, compassion and a smattering of education as empowerment.
I know we administer quite a lot of charity here at Central Dallas Ministries.
We distribute hundreds of thousands of pounds of food stuff annually.
We offer free and extremely reduced cost medical, dental and pharmacy care to thousands of patients.
We provide free or extremely reduced cost legal representation.
We have increasingly sophisticated approaches to employment training, technology education and job placement.
We offer after-school programming and summer day camping for children.
We are building affordable housing units and have plans for many more in the future.
We have homelessness on our radar screen thanks to recent developments in Dallas.
The list could go on and on.
When I look at our work, I feel two emotions.
First, a warmth of gratitude at the good that is being done by some of the best people I have ever known.
Second, a persistent fear that we are in danger of missing an even higher calling.
Don't misunderstand. Compassion is important. At times, charity is the best and only remedy to apply.
Jesus' story of the "good Samaritan" comes to mind.
The man left for dead on the side of the road didn't need a meeting of the city council! He needed medical attention, a ride to town and someone to stop and simply care about him in his dire situation of distress.
Compassion usually works best after the facts of life have played themselves out in someone's experience. Charity feels right when offered and when received in a pinch!
But, compassion is seldom enough, at least not for the long haul.
The city has taught me to read Jesus' story of the Samaritan differently. My new reading wouldn't change the facts of the story.
However, I might add a follow up commentary.
The story makes me wonder how many other people routinely experienced the same kind of mistreatment on that road? How much more charity work did that road create for passersby? Who was responsible for safety on that stretch of highway? What could have been done to make it safer?
In other words, how could the system have made that road better for everyone?
I know that was not the point Jesus was trying to make. He was trying to teach a lesson about what it means to be a neighbor.
I guess I am asking what does it mean to be a real community that sets things up for the benefit and good of as many people as possible?
We seem to have countless outposts of charity. While I am glad about this in one way, in another I wonder what this really says about our society?
In addition to charity and compassion, we need, we must work for justice.
Is the best approach for the long haul to continue to provide tons of supplemental food for hard working families who do not earn enough to support themselves? Or, would it be better to ask why there is such a shortfall, especially in a nation of wealth like ours?
Should we continue to develop community-based medical outposts, complete with pharmacies for the hard working families we serve who do not receive the benefit of health insurance coverage from their employers? Or, would it be better to organize around this disparity in order to seek change?
Is it really a good thing to work with community groups in the inner city to organize neighborhood cleanups and patrols? Or, do we need to organize to compel city government to apply code enforcement in our neighborhoods like it is expected in more affluent parts of town?
Should we continue to visit people who end up in prison because of the very addictions we seek to address on a daily basis? Or, would it be better for us to ask why so many, mainly low-income men and women who need treatment, get prison instead?
At the end of this day the answer likely needs to include both compassion and justice. There is and will always be a place for charity and compassion. We won't get it right, so we will need to compensate.
Having said that, I feel the need to press hard against our prevailing tendency to do only acts of charity while never thinking of ways to embed justice, fairness and equality in the systems that guide our communities.
[More to come on this.]
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Voters and Values. . .Again
When I saw the front page headline on Friday's edition of The Dallas Morning News ("Pastors' voter drive has Perry's blessing"), I had a fairly good idea what the article beneath it contained.
The report described a well-organized network of Evangelical pastors with a goal of registering at least 300,000 new "values voters" before November 2005. The coalition of church leaders calls itself the "Texas Restoration Project."
Of course, the group bills itself and its efforts as non-partisan. Right.
In May around 500 pastors associated with the project met with Governor Rick Perry in Austin. The closed-door meeting gave the Governor an opportunity to encourage the ministers in their work of involving their congregations in the political process. All expenses to the two-day event that included the spouses of many of the pastors (around 800 persons) were paid for with private, but Republican-related funds.
In addition to registering new lay persons to vote, the "Texas Restoration Project" intends to sign up what it calls 1,000 "Patriot Pastors" to assist in the effort, as well as in pushing the group's political and social agenda. Similar efforts have been underway in other states. The project will convene six "Pastor Policy Briefings" before the fall elections.
"The mission is the mobilization of pastors and pews as a way to restore Texas and America to our Judeo-Christian heritage," said spokesman and network organizer David Lane.
How does the group define a "values voter"?
No surprise here. The issues are clear and few: abortion, homosexuality/gay marriage and religious expression in the public square.
Two things bother me about all of this.
First, political leaders exploit this narrow list of highly charged issues to stir the emotions of a large segment of the population leaving no space for rational conversation and no option about how to vote or where to line up politically.
Second, groups like the "Texas Restoration Project" leave the impression that their issues of concern are the only issues allowed in what should be a lively discussion about the true nature of Christian values.
One of the tragic results of this narrow, emotional and limiting worldview is that the poor of our nation and the world suffer greatly.
If abortion, homosexuality and the right to pray in public schools occupy the only high ground, that fairly well excludes consideration of other human issues as matters worthy of inclusion in any values discussion. Then, if one party focuses most of its attention there, the matter is basically closed, don't you think?
How different the words of the Bible sound.
The "values" teaching found there would surprise some folks. As an ex-pastor, I can't much blame the people who sit in the pews. Many ministers, especially those of the fundamentalist bent, don't spend much time on the more prevalent themes I have in mind.
If you are interested in going deeper, find an exhaustive concordance (on-line or in print) and run searches on words like "poor," "poverty," "oppression," "sick," "greed," "justice," "misery," "mercy," "compassion" and "hungry."
Or, sit down and read through the Gospel of Luke. Watch Jesus. Listen to him. Note his focus. What would you say were his key values?
My study of the Bible over the past thirty-something years leads me to believe that eliminating poverty and discrimination, providing adequate housing and health care, establishing justice in national life, educating all of our children regardless of class status, insuring that people who work hard receive all that they need to make a life for themselves and their families, working tirelessly for peace and reconciliation among peoples and wiping out hunger are all extremely important and fundamental "values issues."
And, let me hasten to add, these values are rooted in my understanding of faith and faithfulness.
Today though, the way things are currently framed for us, hard choices have to be made.
In Texas the majority of policy makers are pushing forward with the determined destruction of every public effort to bring assistance, relief, hope and sustained opportunity to the poor. The state budget is balanced every two years on the backs of those at the bottom. The policies of the current national political leadership and that of many other states basically reflect the same narrow "values system."
True "values voters" will recognize that the list of issues to consider when going to the polls is neither short or narrow.
No voter whose values are shaped by the Bible will be able to forget the poor when marking a ballot.
________________________________
Bonus "values" question: Who can tell us why Sodom was destroyed?
Answer: "This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy." (Ezekiel 16:49)
The report described a well-organized network of Evangelical pastors with a goal of registering at least 300,000 new "values voters" before November 2005. The coalition of church leaders calls itself the "Texas Restoration Project."
Of course, the group bills itself and its efforts as non-partisan. Right.
In May around 500 pastors associated with the project met with Governor Rick Perry in Austin. The closed-door meeting gave the Governor an opportunity to encourage the ministers in their work of involving their congregations in the political process. All expenses to the two-day event that included the spouses of many of the pastors (around 800 persons) were paid for with private, but Republican-related funds.
In addition to registering new lay persons to vote, the "Texas Restoration Project" intends to sign up what it calls 1,000 "Patriot Pastors" to assist in the effort, as well as in pushing the group's political and social agenda. Similar efforts have been underway in other states. The project will convene six "Pastor Policy Briefings" before the fall elections.
"The mission is the mobilization of pastors and pews as a way to restore Texas and America to our Judeo-Christian heritage," said spokesman and network organizer David Lane.
How does the group define a "values voter"?
No surprise here. The issues are clear and few: abortion, homosexuality/gay marriage and religious expression in the public square.
Two things bother me about all of this.
First, political leaders exploit this narrow list of highly charged issues to stir the emotions of a large segment of the population leaving no space for rational conversation and no option about how to vote or where to line up politically.
Second, groups like the "Texas Restoration Project" leave the impression that their issues of concern are the only issues allowed in what should be a lively discussion about the true nature of Christian values.
One of the tragic results of this narrow, emotional and limiting worldview is that the poor of our nation and the world suffer greatly.
If abortion, homosexuality and the right to pray in public schools occupy the only high ground, that fairly well excludes consideration of other human issues as matters worthy of inclusion in any values discussion. Then, if one party focuses most of its attention there, the matter is basically closed, don't you think?
How different the words of the Bible sound.
The "values" teaching found there would surprise some folks. As an ex-pastor, I can't much blame the people who sit in the pews. Many ministers, especially those of the fundamentalist bent, don't spend much time on the more prevalent themes I have in mind.
If you are interested in going deeper, find an exhaustive concordance (on-line or in print) and run searches on words like "poor," "poverty," "oppression," "sick," "greed," "justice," "misery," "mercy," "compassion" and "hungry."
Or, sit down and read through the Gospel of Luke. Watch Jesus. Listen to him. Note his focus. What would you say were his key values?
My study of the Bible over the past thirty-something years leads me to believe that eliminating poverty and discrimination, providing adequate housing and health care, establishing justice in national life, educating all of our children regardless of class status, insuring that people who work hard receive all that they need to make a life for themselves and their families, working tirelessly for peace and reconciliation among peoples and wiping out hunger are all extremely important and fundamental "values issues."
And, let me hasten to add, these values are rooted in my understanding of faith and faithfulness.
Today though, the way things are currently framed for us, hard choices have to be made.
In Texas the majority of policy makers are pushing forward with the determined destruction of every public effort to bring assistance, relief, hope and sustained opportunity to the poor. The state budget is balanced every two years on the backs of those at the bottom. The policies of the current national political leadership and that of many other states basically reflect the same narrow "values system."
True "values voters" will recognize that the list of issues to consider when going to the polls is neither short or narrow.
No voter whose values are shaped by the Bible will be able to forget the poor when marking a ballot.
________________________________
Bonus "values" question: Who can tell us why Sodom was destroyed?
Answer: "This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy." (Ezekiel 16:49)
Friday, June 03, 2005
On Being Kind to the Poor
The wisdom of Proverbs tends to be incredibly simple in a radically disarming manner. I realize I need to spend more time camped among these words that combine wisdom with clear calls to precise action.
Take this short gem unearthed at Proverbs 19:17:
"Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and will be repaid in full."
For starters, this advice assumes that those of us with material resources actually encounter those who have very limited resources of this kind.
Sadly, many of us don't cross paths with the poor very often at all. This is the result of how it is that we have arranged our communities and our lives. Make no mistake about it, our communities are the result of intentional design and the forces of economics. All of us are poorer as a result.
Still, we all do encounter those who are economically impoverished.
What does it mean to be kind to someone who is poor?
What does unkindness look and feel like?
Good questions for us to ask ourselves these days, or so it seems to me.
Kindness does not ignore or avoid others.
Kindness takes the time necessary to respond with humanity, grace and humility.
Kindness views others with openness, fairness and optimism.
Kindness does not write people off. Kindness is not into judgment, rejection or dismissal.
Kindness communicates.
Kindness finds the eyes of another person.
Kindness knows how to shake hands.
Kindness takes time for others.
Kindness does not wring its hands, nor does it investigate or over-evaluate a simple request like, "Hey, mister, do you have a little change so I can get a sandwich?"
Kindness will lead us to approach others even before they approach us.
There has been a big "flap" here in Dallas over the past year or so about panhandlers begging on our city streets, especially downtown and at busy intersections. We now have ordinances against such activity.
Predictably, the practice continues at about the same pace as before the new laws were enacted.
I've found a great way to deal with street beggars. Speak to them before they can speak to you! A smile and a warm handshake really makes for a different kind of conversation. Most likely, it will cost you a buck or two, but I have to tell you, the human interaction is well worth the price.
Being kind--read "human" here--to the poor is exactly like lending to the Lord.
Here is another one of those amazing and thoroughly radical statements describing the one-for-one identification of God with the street corner panhandler.
If I am kind to the poor, it is as if I am making a loan to God. Whoa. . .
In other words, God is found in the poor.
An obvious corrollary lesson here is that most people are looking for God in all the wrong places.
The clincher for me is in the promise: whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord and the loan will always be repaid in full.
Nothing is lost when kindness is extended to someone who is poor. As a matter of fact, everything is gained. Everything.
Take this short gem unearthed at Proverbs 19:17:
"Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and will be repaid in full."
For starters, this advice assumes that those of us with material resources actually encounter those who have very limited resources of this kind.
Sadly, many of us don't cross paths with the poor very often at all. This is the result of how it is that we have arranged our communities and our lives. Make no mistake about it, our communities are the result of intentional design and the forces of economics. All of us are poorer as a result.
Still, we all do encounter those who are economically impoverished.
What does it mean to be kind to someone who is poor?
What does unkindness look and feel like?
Good questions for us to ask ourselves these days, or so it seems to me.
Kindness does not ignore or avoid others.
Kindness takes the time necessary to respond with humanity, grace and humility.
Kindness views others with openness, fairness and optimism.
Kindness does not write people off. Kindness is not into judgment, rejection or dismissal.
Kindness communicates.
Kindness finds the eyes of another person.
Kindness knows how to shake hands.
Kindness takes time for others.
Kindness does not wring its hands, nor does it investigate or over-evaluate a simple request like, "Hey, mister, do you have a little change so I can get a sandwich?"
Kindness will lead us to approach others even before they approach us.
There has been a big "flap" here in Dallas over the past year or so about panhandlers begging on our city streets, especially downtown and at busy intersections. We now have ordinances against such activity.
Predictably, the practice continues at about the same pace as before the new laws were enacted.
I've found a great way to deal with street beggars. Speak to them before they can speak to you! A smile and a warm handshake really makes for a different kind of conversation. Most likely, it will cost you a buck or two, but I have to tell you, the human interaction is well worth the price.
Being kind--read "human" here--to the poor is exactly like lending to the Lord.
Here is another one of those amazing and thoroughly radical statements describing the one-for-one identification of God with the street corner panhandler.
If I am kind to the poor, it is as if I am making a loan to God. Whoa. . .
In other words, God is found in the poor.
An obvious corrollary lesson here is that most people are looking for God in all the wrong places.
The clincher for me is in the promise: whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord and the loan will always be repaid in full.
Nothing is lost when kindness is extended to someone who is poor. As a matter of fact, everything is gained. Everything.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
On Robbing the Poor
Large concentrations of low-income or "poor people" populate the inner cities of the United States. It is not that there are no poor folks in rural areas, it is just that there are so many in our urban settings.
This concentration of members of the so called underclass in large population centers creates a dynamic that does not serve the interests of the poor or of the larger community. For one thing, the problems can appear so daunting, so unrelenting that even concerned people are paralyzed. The "no one knows what to do" syndrome is at work in most American cities around the issues associated with poverty and its myriad causes.
Then there are the not so nice people who take advantage of the concentrations of poverty on the one hand and the "what can be done?" resignation on the other to structure things to benefit themselves at the expense of the very people who desperately need a hand up.
This principle can be seen at work in public policy development every time our legislature meets. The 140-day session that just ended down in Austin produced more than ample evidence to substantiate my thesis. Lots of budget balancing occurred at the expense of the poorest Texans. Nothing new here! No surprises.
All of that to say, this repetitive theme in Texas and in national politics, built on the seemingly intractable problems of poverty and the vast numbers of Americans trapped in a low-income whirlpool of sorts, stands over against the faith and religious value system of the Judeo-Christian heritage.
We need to be reminded that morality is not just about sex and human reproduction. Morality is about life, justice, fairness and opportunity.
Back to Proverbs one more time.
"Do not rob the poor because they are poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate; for the Lord pleads their cause and despoils of life those who despoil them" (Proverbs 22:22-23)
Message? Don't take advantage of those who are weak who have no real recourse against your power.
And remember whose side the Creator happens to be on. God is not like CNN--God is not neutral!
This concentration of members of the so called underclass in large population centers creates a dynamic that does not serve the interests of the poor or of the larger community. For one thing, the problems can appear so daunting, so unrelenting that even concerned people are paralyzed. The "no one knows what to do" syndrome is at work in most American cities around the issues associated with poverty and its myriad causes.
Then there are the not so nice people who take advantage of the concentrations of poverty on the one hand and the "what can be done?" resignation on the other to structure things to benefit themselves at the expense of the very people who desperately need a hand up.
This principle can be seen at work in public policy development every time our legislature meets. The 140-day session that just ended down in Austin produced more than ample evidence to substantiate my thesis. Lots of budget balancing occurred at the expense of the poorest Texans. Nothing new here! No surprises.
All of that to say, this repetitive theme in Texas and in national politics, built on the seemingly intractable problems of poverty and the vast numbers of Americans trapped in a low-income whirlpool of sorts, stands over against the faith and religious value system of the Judeo-Christian heritage.
We need to be reminded that morality is not just about sex and human reproduction. Morality is about life, justice, fairness and opportunity.
Back to Proverbs one more time.
"Do not rob the poor because they are poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate; for the Lord pleads their cause and despoils of life those who despoil them" (Proverbs 22:22-23)
Message? Don't take advantage of those who are weak who have no real recourse against your power.
And remember whose side the Creator happens to be on. God is not like CNN--God is not neutral!
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Let Them Drink Beer
I've been known to buy a drunk a drink.
It happened first on the street in New Orleans almost thirty years ago. My now, how time gets away!
The man approached me and said, "I'm not going to lie to you. I need a drink."
Taken back by his total honesty, I congratulated him for his truthfulness and stepped off the street into a bar and bought him a beer. And yes, I was a preacher at the time.
I've always been partial to people who tell me the truth about themselves, no matter where that takes us. So, across the years I've invested time and money in relieving the thirst of more than a few folks who honestly just needed a drink.
Too bad I hadn't discovered earlier the wisdom of Proverbs on this subject. Not that I share this tendency of mine with everyone, at least not until now. But, the wisdom of ancient Israel does help me just here.
When you have time, take a look at Proverbs 31:4-9.
What you'll find is guidance on who should drink and who shouldn't.
To cut to the conclusion: political leaders should avoid alcohol, but the poor should be given a drink from time to time to relieve their misery and help them forget their poverty. I promise that is what the passage says.
You see, rulers, the politicos need clear heads just to remember all the laws they have passed. If they drink, they may forget the good public policy they've crafted while sober. The results of such stupor would not be good for the oppressed and the poor (see verse 5 especially).
Interesting, huh?
The clear implication is that leaders enact laws that protect the weak.
Now there is a novel idea!
In Texas and in Washington far too often our leaders approve legislation designed to crush the poor, or so it seems out here in reality land. Only after passing laws that do nothing to assist the poor and needy do they hit the pubs. Maybe they reverse the order so they won't have to think about what they've actually done!
The poor, on the other hand, should be given "strong drink" (verse 6). This counsel assumes that a drink helps when you are perishing or in distress. If you need insight for interpreting "perishing" or "distress," drive downtown and look around.
Evidently the Jewish wise man who wrote this understood that beer and wine help poor folks forget their poverty and their misery (verse 7).
I guess that's why lots of crushed people with no real options feel the need for a drink. I don't think I'm being unkind when I observe that many religious people don't understand very well the world of the poor.
The wise man of Proverbs wraps up his homily on strong drink with clear, direct words about the work of leaders and, I would assume, people of faith who know the heart of God:
"Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute. Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy" (31:8-9).
At the risk of really being written off, let me add, I'll drink to that!
It happened first on the street in New Orleans almost thirty years ago. My now, how time gets away!
The man approached me and said, "I'm not going to lie to you. I need a drink."
Taken back by his total honesty, I congratulated him for his truthfulness and stepped off the street into a bar and bought him a beer. And yes, I was a preacher at the time.
I've always been partial to people who tell me the truth about themselves, no matter where that takes us. So, across the years I've invested time and money in relieving the thirst of more than a few folks who honestly just needed a drink.
Too bad I hadn't discovered earlier the wisdom of Proverbs on this subject. Not that I share this tendency of mine with everyone, at least not until now. But, the wisdom of ancient Israel does help me just here.
When you have time, take a look at Proverbs 31:4-9.
What you'll find is guidance on who should drink and who shouldn't.
To cut to the conclusion: political leaders should avoid alcohol, but the poor should be given a drink from time to time to relieve their misery and help them forget their poverty. I promise that is what the passage says.
You see, rulers, the politicos need clear heads just to remember all the laws they have passed. If they drink, they may forget the good public policy they've crafted while sober. The results of such stupor would not be good for the oppressed and the poor (see verse 5 especially).
Interesting, huh?
The clear implication is that leaders enact laws that protect the weak.
Now there is a novel idea!
In Texas and in Washington far too often our leaders approve legislation designed to crush the poor, or so it seems out here in reality land. Only after passing laws that do nothing to assist the poor and needy do they hit the pubs. Maybe they reverse the order so they won't have to think about what they've actually done!
The poor, on the other hand, should be given "strong drink" (verse 6). This counsel assumes that a drink helps when you are perishing or in distress. If you need insight for interpreting "perishing" or "distress," drive downtown and look around.
Evidently the Jewish wise man who wrote this understood that beer and wine help poor folks forget their poverty and their misery (verse 7).
I guess that's why lots of crushed people with no real options feel the need for a drink. I don't think I'm being unkind when I observe that many religious people don't understand very well the world of the poor.
The wise man of Proverbs wraps up his homily on strong drink with clear, direct words about the work of leaders and, I would assume, people of faith who know the heart of God:
"Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute. Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy" (31:8-9).
At the risk of really being written off, let me add, I'll drink to that!
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Billie Jo's Rest
Exhaustion won out at last,
Throwing her to the brick staircase
Ascending to a church whose door is locked against her kind
And the noise of the busy, hustling street below;
Fitting couch for a much too weary pilgrim.
Dirty face pressed almost softly against concrete steps,
Leading no where, except to more of her endless routine--
Forgotten life, surrounded, yet completely alone;
But sound sleep, rest for aching feet and back and limbs,
No one seems to see, no one acts, Billie Jo sleeps.
She, a well-known wanderer,
Up and down these same streets,
Pacing, as if in search of something lost so long ago,
Finding satisfaction in an easy conversation with herself,
Being that no one else seems to have the time, not for her.
All she owns, her special treasure, nestled in a worn plastic bag,
Straining against the weight of forgotten meds and socks,
A sweater even in the festering humidity;
Simple, almost barren life,
Uncluttered by annoying invitations to join friends or anyone.
"Oh, yes, efforts have been made,"
As much as is now allowed for citizens of the street;
But the game has been a long one,
Played well by rules no one understands,
So now, she prefers her brand of freedom, no matter how unforgiving.
Billie Jo sleeps peacefully as angels watch,
And preachers pass by,
And professionals schedule times to try to help yet again
This one lingering soul who fell and now lives beneath gapping cracks;
She knows us better than we know ourselves.
[I have known Billie Jo for most of the past ten years. A decade is quite a long time. Her story is as complex as the city and as simple as the words of Jesus. She is my friend. I pray that I am hers. LJ]
Throwing her to the brick staircase
Ascending to a church whose door is locked against her kind
And the noise of the busy, hustling street below;
Fitting couch for a much too weary pilgrim.
Dirty face pressed almost softly against concrete steps,
Leading no where, except to more of her endless routine--
Forgotten life, surrounded, yet completely alone;
But sound sleep, rest for aching feet and back and limbs,
No one seems to see, no one acts, Billie Jo sleeps.
She, a well-known wanderer,
Up and down these same streets,
Pacing, as if in search of something lost so long ago,
Finding satisfaction in an easy conversation with herself,
Being that no one else seems to have the time, not for her.
All she owns, her special treasure, nestled in a worn plastic bag,
Straining against the weight of forgotten meds and socks,
A sweater even in the festering humidity;
Simple, almost barren life,
Uncluttered by annoying invitations to join friends or anyone.
"Oh, yes, efforts have been made,"
As much as is now allowed for citizens of the street;
But the game has been a long one,
Played well by rules no one understands,
So now, she prefers her brand of freedom, no matter how unforgiving.
Billie Jo sleeps peacefully as angels watch,
And preachers pass by,
And professionals schedule times to try to help yet again
This one lingering soul who fell and now lives beneath gapping cracks;
She knows us better than we know ourselves.
[I have known Billie Jo for most of the past ten years. A decade is quite a long time. Her story is as complex as the city and as simple as the words of Jesus. She is my friend. I pray that I am hers. LJ]
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Sunday Morning Musings
As I ran around White Rock Lake this morning, evidence of yesterday's rainfall appeared everywhere. The spillway, normally just a trickle, roared, as the overflow poured into the creek system below. Fishing birds and humans fought for the best spots to take advantage of the boiling water and the disturbed fish just below the surface.
It occurred to me, as I observed the lake, that we are all very much connected.
Exhibit A: trash that literally covered the surface of the placid lake.
That's correct.
Trash.
Here's how the flood control system works in Dallas. A bag of trash or a paper cup or a bottle tossed out carelessly into the street or thrown into a sanitary sewer inlet gets washed away, or better, moved downstream when it rains.
Often I hear people, who don't understand the interconnected ecosphere of the lake and the city, blame the lake users for trash that ends up in the water. The fact is the problem begins far away from the lake, out in the suburbs. With every heavy rainfall the trash from above the lake gets washed into the water where it drifts into the shoreline. The parks and recreation folks, along with loyal volunteers, clean it up again and again.
We are all very much connected in this city. Much more than we even realize.
I am sure there are lessons here. Maybe you can think on this image and come up with some useful ideas.
___________________________________
Speaking of "upstream" thinking. I am wondering what two or three ideas, that could inform the development of better public policy, might have the most positive affect on the urban poor in the United States?
My ideas may seem to be a real reach in terms of their direct connection to my main concern. But, I don't think so. Long term solutions call for broader thinking that will work change in the systemic reality that keeps poor people poor.
Try these notions.
Idea 1: Our nation should develop, as quickly as possible, strategies that would free us from dependence on foreign sources of energy. Alternative fuels, more efficient means of transportation and reduced consumption of energy in general are all attainable goals. The connection to bettering the lives of the urban poor isn't hard to discover. Such efforts would generate new jobs, improve our failing environment (reducing the impact of a number of urban health challenges) and save funds now directed to an extremely costly foreign conflict. At the same time, such movement would further spur the developing network of public transportation that offers access to better employment opportunities outside the city's core.
Idea 2: We need to accept "outsourcing" as a permanent fact of life in our economy. What we cannot continue to do is to remain paralyzed in the face of this worldwide reality. Funds need to be redirected in a serious and strategic manner to take advantage of the great resting capacity of the largely idle or underutilized urban workforce. One thing my experience in the city has taught me is that people want to work. There is an opportunity for American corporations to take advantage of this growing, urban workforce and to develop new "insourcing" strategies. Companies currently housed in exurban and suburban areas need to consider expansion through satelittle workforce locations or "labor pods" to take advantage of the available workforce resources.
Idea 3: Our nation needs to radically beef up its diplomatic corps. The United States needs to reestablish itself as a nation of compassion and fairness. We need to become known as the nation that will talk, negotiate and work hard to hammer out settlements to the various conflicts without violence. Our slumping foreign aid budget and our current foreign policy should be re-vamped. The savings would be enormous. The growth in international stature invaluable. With what could be saved and gained, life for our own poor would improve dramatically. A nation concerned, really concerned for its neighbors around the world, is also a nation committed to seeing life improve for all of its citizens.
__________________________________
Tomorrow is Memorial Day in the United States.
On this special day for remembering all who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service of their country, we should also reflect on the current war in Iraq. Lives are being offered up on a daily basis. Lives of our soldiers and civilians. Lives of the Iraqi people. The conflict seems to be a senseless engagement in light of all that we know about our world--terror, radical fundamentalism of all brands (including Christian), hunger, disease, natural disaster, and poverty.
I remember my own college days. The Veit Nam War dragged on to its frustrating end. I recall the heated and important debates about that conflict and whether or not it met any of the standards of "just war."
Today the church is largely silent on the current conflict. I find that strange and very disappointing.
I went to church this morning.
I prayed for peace.
It occurred to me, as I observed the lake, that we are all very much connected.
Exhibit A: trash that literally covered the surface of the placid lake.
That's correct.
Trash.
Here's how the flood control system works in Dallas. A bag of trash or a paper cup or a bottle tossed out carelessly into the street or thrown into a sanitary sewer inlet gets washed away, or better, moved downstream when it rains.
Often I hear people, who don't understand the interconnected ecosphere of the lake and the city, blame the lake users for trash that ends up in the water. The fact is the problem begins far away from the lake, out in the suburbs. With every heavy rainfall the trash from above the lake gets washed into the water where it drifts into the shoreline. The parks and recreation folks, along with loyal volunteers, clean it up again and again.
We are all very much connected in this city. Much more than we even realize.
I am sure there are lessons here. Maybe you can think on this image and come up with some useful ideas.
___________________________________
Speaking of "upstream" thinking. I am wondering what two or three ideas, that could inform the development of better public policy, might have the most positive affect on the urban poor in the United States?
My ideas may seem to be a real reach in terms of their direct connection to my main concern. But, I don't think so. Long term solutions call for broader thinking that will work change in the systemic reality that keeps poor people poor.
Try these notions.
Idea 1: Our nation should develop, as quickly as possible, strategies that would free us from dependence on foreign sources of energy. Alternative fuels, more efficient means of transportation and reduced consumption of energy in general are all attainable goals. The connection to bettering the lives of the urban poor isn't hard to discover. Such efforts would generate new jobs, improve our failing environment (reducing the impact of a number of urban health challenges) and save funds now directed to an extremely costly foreign conflict. At the same time, such movement would further spur the developing network of public transportation that offers access to better employment opportunities outside the city's core.
Idea 2: We need to accept "outsourcing" as a permanent fact of life in our economy. What we cannot continue to do is to remain paralyzed in the face of this worldwide reality. Funds need to be redirected in a serious and strategic manner to take advantage of the great resting capacity of the largely idle or underutilized urban workforce. One thing my experience in the city has taught me is that people want to work. There is an opportunity for American corporations to take advantage of this growing, urban workforce and to develop new "insourcing" strategies. Companies currently housed in exurban and suburban areas need to consider expansion through satelittle workforce locations or "labor pods" to take advantage of the available workforce resources.
Idea 3: Our nation needs to radically beef up its diplomatic corps. The United States needs to reestablish itself as a nation of compassion and fairness. We need to become known as the nation that will talk, negotiate and work hard to hammer out settlements to the various conflicts without violence. Our slumping foreign aid budget and our current foreign policy should be re-vamped. The savings would be enormous. The growth in international stature invaluable. With what could be saved and gained, life for our own poor would improve dramatically. A nation concerned, really concerned for its neighbors around the world, is also a nation committed to seeing life improve for all of its citizens.
__________________________________
Tomorrow is Memorial Day in the United States.
On this special day for remembering all who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service of their country, we should also reflect on the current war in Iraq. Lives are being offered up on a daily basis. Lives of our soldiers and civilians. Lives of the Iraqi people. The conflict seems to be a senseless engagement in light of all that we know about our world--terror, radical fundamentalism of all brands (including Christian), hunger, disease, natural disaster, and poverty.
I remember my own college days. The Veit Nam War dragged on to its frustrating end. I recall the heated and important debates about that conflict and whether or not it met any of the standards of "just war."
Today the church is largely silent on the current conflict. I find that strange and very disappointing.
I went to church this morning.
I prayed for peace.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Community Reborn
Recently, a group of CDM leaders, along with an architect and a couple of commercial realtors “explored” the inside of an old and cavernous building that sits empty in downtown Dallas.
Twenty-two stories of abandoned stone and steel, it rises from the street with no current purpose or utility.
As I walked through the building, climbing dark stairways with a flashlight, making my way through office areas and peering out from the upper floors through grimy windows, I could see community lost.
On the ground floor a staircase sweeps smartly up to the mezzanine level where a once busy coffee shop, surrounded by novelty stores, overheard the banter and conversation of hundreds of urban workers. Around lunch tables, across office desks, in conference rooms and even down in the engine rooms, this building housed a thriving community years ago.
Today it is dead.
Completely dead.
Empty.
Quiet.
Spooky, frankly.
But, I have to tell you; we can see community rising from the ashes of this place, or one much like it.
We continue to explore a radical, but very possible dream of bringing life to such a place again. We can see two hundred single room occupancy (SRO) apartments carved out on the upper floors of such an abandoned place. New homes for very low-income persons who simply need just that—a place to call home.
We can see thriving offices down below where our administrative and development functions could be housed alongside our law firm, the Central Dallas Community Development Corporation and CDMWorks, our employment training arm. We see other community development partners housed with our team in such a space.
I can see, better, I can smell the coffee brewing and I can hear the conversations ignited again in the restaurant and in the shops.
Best of all, I can observe folks getting life together after long journeys into far countries of confusion and isolation!
Home at last!
Community lost.
Community rediscovered!
Stay tuned for the details.
Twenty-two stories of abandoned stone and steel, it rises from the street with no current purpose or utility.
As I walked through the building, climbing dark stairways with a flashlight, making my way through office areas and peering out from the upper floors through grimy windows, I could see community lost.
On the ground floor a staircase sweeps smartly up to the mezzanine level where a once busy coffee shop, surrounded by novelty stores, overheard the banter and conversation of hundreds of urban workers. Around lunch tables, across office desks, in conference rooms and even down in the engine rooms, this building housed a thriving community years ago.
Today it is dead.
Completely dead.
Empty.
Quiet.
Spooky, frankly.
But, I have to tell you; we can see community rising from the ashes of this place, or one much like it.
We continue to explore a radical, but very possible dream of bringing life to such a place again. We can see two hundred single room occupancy (SRO) apartments carved out on the upper floors of such an abandoned place. New homes for very low-income persons who simply need just that—a place to call home.
We can see thriving offices down below where our administrative and development functions could be housed alongside our law firm, the Central Dallas Community Development Corporation and CDMWorks, our employment training arm. We see other community development partners housed with our team in such a space.
I can see, better, I can smell the coffee brewing and I can hear the conversations ignited again in the restaurant and in the shops.
Best of all, I can observe folks getting life together after long journeys into far countries of confusion and isolation!
Home at last!
Community lost.
Community rediscovered!
Stay tuned for the details.
Friday, May 27, 2005
Get Political Today!
Please read the following press release regarding a bill currently in the U. S. Congress to assist in the elimination of hunger in the nation by 2015.
The goal here is not as unreasonable as it may first sound.
Central Dallas Ministries partners with the North Texas Food Bank, a Second Harvest organization, to provide food to thousands of families each month.
Consider writing your U. S. Senators to sign on as co-sponsors of this bill. While you are at it, drop a note to your U. S. Representative to consider sponsoring a companion bill in the House so that this vision can become law as soon as possible.
_____________________________________________
SENATOR DURBIN INTRODUCES HUNGER-FREE COMMUNITIES ACT OF 2005
Legislation Establishes Goal to End Hunger in America by 2015
CHICAGO, May 25, 2005 —Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) introduced the Hunger-Free Communities Act of 2005 today to increase federal funding available to local organizations working to reduce hunger in communities nationwide and establishing an ambitious commitment to end hunger in the United States by 2015 . The bill has bipartisan support with Senators Richard Lugar (R-IN), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and Gordon Smith (R-OR) as cosponsors.
According to the USDA, hunger and food insecurity in the United States has increased for the fourth straight year. In 2004, more than 36 million Americans—including 13 million children—lived with hunger or on the brink of hunger.
"This critical legislation will enable our Member food banks and food-rescue organizations to better meet the needs of low-income Americans, particularly through enhanced facilities," said Robert Forney, President and CEO of America's Second Harvest--The Nation's Food Bank Network. "We commend Senator Durbin and his colleagues for their leadership and commitment to addressing hunger in America."
The Hunger-Free Communities Act preserves current funding levels for federal food programs and protects nutrition and hunger-relief initiatives. Additionally, it directs the Census Bureau to collect annual data on food insecurity in the United States and the United States Department of Agriculture to prepare annual reports on the status of efforts to eliminate domestic hunger and recommendations for reducing hunger.
“Hunger is not a partisan issue, and we now have the opportunity to forge a new bipartisan partnership, committed to addressing hunger in communities all across our country,” Durbin said. “During the 1960s and 1970s, under both Democratic and Republican Administrations, our country put in place programs that substantially reduced the number of people who struggle to feed their families. Unfortunately, today hunger and food insecurity has been on the rise. That is why we introduced The Hunger-Free Communities Act.”
The Hunger-Free Communities Act enables Congress to establish a first of its kind grant program authorizing up to $50 million a year for five years to help hunger-relief organizations reduce hunger locally through efforts such as infrastructure improvements, training and technical assistance, and expanding access to more nutritious food including protein and produce. This public-private partnership focuses on addressing hunger at the local level while promoting collaboration among groups with mutual visions.
In 2000, as part of the Healthy People 2010 initiative, the United States government established a goal of cutting food insecurity in half by 2010. In June 2004, the National Anti-Hunger Organization (NAHO) comprised of 13 national hunger organizations, including America's Second Harvest, issued the Blueprint to End Hunger—a roadmap to end hunger in America—which supports a strategy for reducing hunger in half by 2010. The Hunger-Free Communities Act reaffirms this commitment.
# # #
America's Second Harvest -- The Nation's Food Bank Network is the nation's largest charitable hunger-relief organization with a Network of more than 200 regional member food banks and food - rescue programs serving all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The America's Second Harvest Network secures and distributes nearly two billion pounds of donated food and grocery products annually. The America's Second Harvest Network supports approximately 50,000 local charitable agencies operating more than 94,000 programs including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, after-school programs, and Kids Cafes. Each year, the America's Second Harvest Network provides food assistance to more than 23 million low-income hungry people in the United States, including more than nine million children and nearly three million seniors. For more on America's Second Harvest, please visit www.secondharvest.org.
The goal here is not as unreasonable as it may first sound.
Central Dallas Ministries partners with the North Texas Food Bank, a Second Harvest organization, to provide food to thousands of families each month.
Consider writing your U. S. Senators to sign on as co-sponsors of this bill. While you are at it, drop a note to your U. S. Representative to consider sponsoring a companion bill in the House so that this vision can become law as soon as possible.
_____________________________________________
SENATOR DURBIN INTRODUCES HUNGER-FREE COMMUNITIES ACT OF 2005
Legislation Establishes Goal to End Hunger in America by 2015
CHICAGO, May 25, 2005 —Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) introduced the Hunger-Free Communities Act of 2005 today to increase federal funding available to local organizations working to reduce hunger in communities nationwide and establishing an ambitious commitment to end hunger in the United States by 2015 . The bill has bipartisan support with Senators Richard Lugar (R-IN), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and Gordon Smith (R-OR) as cosponsors.
According to the USDA, hunger and food insecurity in the United States has increased for the fourth straight year. In 2004, more than 36 million Americans—including 13 million children—lived with hunger or on the brink of hunger.
"This critical legislation will enable our Member food banks and food-rescue organizations to better meet the needs of low-income Americans, particularly through enhanced facilities," said Robert Forney, President and CEO of America's Second Harvest--The Nation's Food Bank Network. "We commend Senator Durbin and his colleagues for their leadership and commitment to addressing hunger in America."
The Hunger-Free Communities Act preserves current funding levels for federal food programs and protects nutrition and hunger-relief initiatives. Additionally, it directs the Census Bureau to collect annual data on food insecurity in the United States and the United States Department of Agriculture to prepare annual reports on the status of efforts to eliminate domestic hunger and recommendations for reducing hunger.
“Hunger is not a partisan issue, and we now have the opportunity to forge a new bipartisan partnership, committed to addressing hunger in communities all across our country,” Durbin said. “During the 1960s and 1970s, under both Democratic and Republican Administrations, our country put in place programs that substantially reduced the number of people who struggle to feed their families. Unfortunately, today hunger and food insecurity has been on the rise. That is why we introduced The Hunger-Free Communities Act.”
The Hunger-Free Communities Act enables Congress to establish a first of its kind grant program authorizing up to $50 million a year for five years to help hunger-relief organizations reduce hunger locally through efforts such as infrastructure improvements, training and technical assistance, and expanding access to more nutritious food including protein and produce. This public-private partnership focuses on addressing hunger at the local level while promoting collaboration among groups with mutual visions.
In 2000, as part of the Healthy People 2010 initiative, the United States government established a goal of cutting food insecurity in half by 2010. In June 2004, the National Anti-Hunger Organization (NAHO) comprised of 13 national hunger organizations, including America's Second Harvest, issued the Blueprint to End Hunger—a roadmap to end hunger in America—which supports a strategy for reducing hunger in half by 2010. The Hunger-Free Communities Act reaffirms this commitment.
# # #
America's Second Harvest -- The Nation's Food Bank Network is the nation's largest charitable hunger-relief organization with a Network of more than 200 regional member food banks and food - rescue programs serving all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The America's Second Harvest Network secures and distributes nearly two billion pounds of donated food and grocery products annually. The America's Second Harvest Network supports approximately 50,000 local charitable agencies operating more than 94,000 programs including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, after-school programs, and Kids Cafes. Each year, the America's Second Harvest Network provides food assistance to more than 23 million low-income hungry people in the United States, including more than nine million children and nearly three million seniors. For more on America's Second Harvest, please visit www.secondharvest.org.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Justifying Tax "Abatements" for Churches
Years ago when I visited people hospitalized at Baylor University Medical Center, I would occasionally see a rather eccentric gentleman picketing on the sidewalk in front of Criswell College on Gaston Avenue. The guy always carried a sign that read, "Churches Should Pay Taxes," or something to that effect.
I suppose he didn't realize that Criswell college was not a church, but a private, Bible college. However, he was correct that it enjoyed tax exempt status as a non-profit organization.
Forgive me for bringing it up again, but you know, the guy raises a good question with his little protest.
What if churches had to justify or prove up the legitimacy of their tax exempt status? What if there were forms to fill out and accountability standards to achieve in order to maintain what amounts to a tax abatement on the real estate churches own and operate?
Non-profit hospital systems are required to pass such tests to maintain their non-profit, tax exempt status.
For-profit businesses that receive tax abatements from taxing authorities, be they city, county, state or federal, do so because of the public benefit that they generate in the form of jobs, economic development, tourism, etc.
Why not churches?
What if churches had to account for their actions in the community?
What would the reports reveal? Would anything change in the community if churches had to report on substantive work accomplished in the neighborhoods where they work?
There is lots of talk and press these days out of the White House Office of Community and Faith-Based Initiatives about the important role of churches and other communities of faith in the hard work of transforming communities. You would think the time might be right for every congregation in the nation to offer a full accounting of the work being done in, for and with the community that would merit what under current policy amounts to a permanent tax abatement without review.
Now that would be a faith-based initiative with some real punch!
I know we have to submit a Form 990 annually to the IRS. It is our tax form as a non-profit. We list all revenue. We list the top salaries in the organization. We report on what our activities were for the year. It is an accounting to justify our tax exempt status.
Hmmm. What would the IRS reporting form look like for churches?
Possibly a modified Form 990 would work. Same reporting standards: revenue, top salaries, and report on activities. How about a line item on assistance extended to persons in need? How about the number of homeless persons housed either by the church directly through programs or members or via cooperation with a partner organization? How about children cared for in day car and after school activities? How about leadership development? How hunger relief? Hours spent mentoring students? Number of latch-key kids cared for in safe environments? Dollars donated to organizations who do make all of this and more their standard operating mission on a daily basis.
I am not suggesting that churches don't do good work.
I am just wondering what if they had to think it all through and report it out to community leaders?
I wonder what would happen if finance committees and pastoral leadership had to really think about every dollar spent in view of the challenges facing our cities?
I guess I am wondering about the benefit of churches becoming fully-functioning members of the community as institutions.
What about your church? Would such reporting requirements change anything in your congregation?
I suppose he didn't realize that Criswell college was not a church, but a private, Bible college. However, he was correct that it enjoyed tax exempt status as a non-profit organization.
Forgive me for bringing it up again, but you know, the guy raises a good question with his little protest.
What if churches had to justify or prove up the legitimacy of their tax exempt status? What if there were forms to fill out and accountability standards to achieve in order to maintain what amounts to a tax abatement on the real estate churches own and operate?
Non-profit hospital systems are required to pass such tests to maintain their non-profit, tax exempt status.
For-profit businesses that receive tax abatements from taxing authorities, be they city, county, state or federal, do so because of the public benefit that they generate in the form of jobs, economic development, tourism, etc.
Why not churches?
What if churches had to account for their actions in the community?
What would the reports reveal? Would anything change in the community if churches had to report on substantive work accomplished in the neighborhoods where they work?
There is lots of talk and press these days out of the White House Office of Community and Faith-Based Initiatives about the important role of churches and other communities of faith in the hard work of transforming communities. You would think the time might be right for every congregation in the nation to offer a full accounting of the work being done in, for and with the community that would merit what under current policy amounts to a permanent tax abatement without review.
Now that would be a faith-based initiative with some real punch!
I know we have to submit a Form 990 annually to the IRS. It is our tax form as a non-profit. We list all revenue. We list the top salaries in the organization. We report on what our activities were for the year. It is an accounting to justify our tax exempt status.
Hmmm. What would the IRS reporting form look like for churches?
Possibly a modified Form 990 would work. Same reporting standards: revenue, top salaries, and report on activities. How about a line item on assistance extended to persons in need? How about the number of homeless persons housed either by the church directly through programs or members or via cooperation with a partner organization? How about children cared for in day car and after school activities? How about leadership development? How hunger relief? Hours spent mentoring students? Number of latch-key kids cared for in safe environments? Dollars donated to organizations who do make all of this and more their standard operating mission on a daily basis.
I am not suggesting that churches don't do good work.
I am just wondering what if they had to think it all through and report it out to community leaders?
I wonder what would happen if finance committees and pastoral leadership had to really think about every dollar spent in view of the challenges facing our cities?
I guess I am wondering about the benefit of churches becoming fully-functioning members of the community as institutions.
What about your church? Would such reporting requirements change anything in your congregation?
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Kids, Crime and the City
Earlier this week I was in the Roseland Community Center for a meeting. Just last week Central Dallas Ministries finalized a contract agreement with the Dallas Housing Authority that gives us the opportunity to manage the new community center at Roseland Homes, a public housing property owned and operated by DHA.
The new center is a much-needed and amazing community asset. The new gymnasium comes complete with a hardwood floor that manages to put spring in even my legs!
The challenge of operating the new center will be large, but what a gift to us and, more importantly, to a part of the city that we are devoted to completely. Roseland Homes is one of "our places."
While I was there, a group of young men piled out of a van and entered the center. They ranged in age from about 14 to 17. They all wore the same basic pants and white tees. They were all a bit subdued, but polite as I greeted them.
A couple of older guys (no more than 25-years-old) appeared to be their coaches.
I overheard them ask our center director for a basketball.
She razzed them a bit: "What's y'all comin' over here without a ball? I ain't got no ball!"
When they hesitated without an answer, she broke into a big smile and produced basketballs they could use.
Everyone laughed and the game began.
Stupid me asked them if they were "a team."
"No," one of the leaders said. "We're from the juvenile center."
Finally, I got it.
These kids were on a supervised field trip out of the facility where the courts had placed them for some criminal action.
The game was part of their daily routine. They were using our new center because our director there, like all of our directors, is constantly reaching out to connect with folks who are a vital part of the inner city where we work.
Kids in trouble--definitely a part of the texture, the story of our neighborhood.
As I spoke to these young men, I welcomed them into our "new house." I told them they were going to help us "break it in." I didn't really know who they were or why they were there.
Reflecting on the group after I understood there reason for being there, I didn't change my mind.
These young men need what my children needed and still need. Respect. Adults who care, who will listen and who will help with connections. They need a safe place to play, to hang out and to be kids. They need education. They need jobs. They need space for self-discovery, as well as self-revelation. They need to know that others value them simply for their unique humanity.
They need adults who love them without condition and who will not give up on them.
As I left, it made me feel really good that they were sweating it out on the gym floor.
But, I've got to tell you, I can't stop thinking about all of the other needs they have that if fulfilled, will make all the difference in the world in their lives and futures.
The new center is a much-needed and amazing community asset. The new gymnasium comes complete with a hardwood floor that manages to put spring in even my legs!
The challenge of operating the new center will be large, but what a gift to us and, more importantly, to a part of the city that we are devoted to completely. Roseland Homes is one of "our places."
While I was there, a group of young men piled out of a van and entered the center. They ranged in age from about 14 to 17. They all wore the same basic pants and white tees. They were all a bit subdued, but polite as I greeted them.
A couple of older guys (no more than 25-years-old) appeared to be their coaches.
I overheard them ask our center director for a basketball.
She razzed them a bit: "What's y'all comin' over here without a ball? I ain't got no ball!"
When they hesitated without an answer, she broke into a big smile and produced basketballs they could use.
Everyone laughed and the game began.
Stupid me asked them if they were "a team."
"No," one of the leaders said. "We're from the juvenile center."
Finally, I got it.
These kids were on a supervised field trip out of the facility where the courts had placed them for some criminal action.
The game was part of their daily routine. They were using our new center because our director there, like all of our directors, is constantly reaching out to connect with folks who are a vital part of the inner city where we work.
Kids in trouble--definitely a part of the texture, the story of our neighborhood.
As I spoke to these young men, I welcomed them into our "new house." I told them they were going to help us "break it in." I didn't really know who they were or why they were there.
Reflecting on the group after I understood there reason for being there, I didn't change my mind.
These young men need what my children needed and still need. Respect. Adults who care, who will listen and who will help with connections. They need a safe place to play, to hang out and to be kids. They need education. They need jobs. They need space for self-discovery, as well as self-revelation. They need to know that others value them simply for their unique humanity.
They need adults who love them without condition and who will not give up on them.
As I left, it made me feel really good that they were sweating it out on the gym floor.
But, I've got to tell you, I can't stop thinking about all of the other needs they have that if fulfilled, will make all the difference in the world in their lives and futures.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Public Schools and the Inner City
Controversy swirls around public schools these days. Few, if any, institutions more directly affect the lives of children from low-income families than do our public schools.
Recently, Janet Morrison, Director of Children's Education here at Central Dallas Ministries, sent me the following provocative statement from Reg Weaver, President of the National Education Association, of the "10 Commandments for Public Education." Some of the "commandments" have been adapted by the National Association of Multicultural Educators.
Whatever your opinions as you read, I think you'll find Weaver's ideas stimulating. Our schools here in the city are incredibly important to the future of our children.
____________________________________________________
Commandment #1: Thou shalt not pretend to reform schools by passing some spurious law where the intent is only to perpetuate the continued marginalization of this nation's children of color, the poor, and the different.
Commandment #2: Thou shalt not say that children are America's top priority when 20 percent of America's children live in poverty, 15 percent have no health insurance, and 13 children are killed by gunfire every single day.
Commandment #3: Thou shalt recognize that only public education has the potential to provide every child in America with a quality education. Therefore, thou shalt not abandon public schools, but redeem and strengthen them.
Commandment #4: Thou shalt not spend more money on prisons than on schools. The more quality schools you have the fewer prisons you'll need.
Commandment #5: Thou shalt not kid thyself that paying starting teachers $20,000 a year is any way to attract and retain the best and the brightest educators for our children. Thou shalt support future teachers--not insult them.
Commandment #6: Thou shalt respect every child as precious and capable of learning--inclusive of all areas of diversity including, race, ethnicity, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, socioeconomic status, language, disability, or immigration status.
Commandment #7: Thou shalt not attack teachers, especially when thou has not been in a classroom thyself for the last 35 years.
Commandment #8: Thou shalt honor not only teachers, but the people who drive the buses, clean the hallways, serve the lunches, counsel the students, take the attendance, nurse the injured, assist in the classrooms, teach the teachers and run our nation's schools with dignity and dedication and grace.
Commandment #9: Thou shalt recognize that quality education requires everybody in the multicultural education community to struggle against all forms of oppression, including racism, sexism, classism, linguicism, ablism, ageism, heterosexism, religious intolerance, and xenophobia.
Commandment #10: Thou shalt remember that public education must always be an immediate priority and a long-term investment. Schools must not be subjected to quick fixes or get-rich-quick schemes.
_____________________________________________________
The same people who can deny others everything are famous for refusing themselves nothing."
--Leigh Hunt
Recently, Janet Morrison, Director of Children's Education here at Central Dallas Ministries, sent me the following provocative statement from Reg Weaver, President of the National Education Association, of the "10 Commandments for Public Education." Some of the "commandments" have been adapted by the National Association of Multicultural Educators.
Whatever your opinions as you read, I think you'll find Weaver's ideas stimulating. Our schools here in the city are incredibly important to the future of our children.
____________________________________________________
Commandment #1: Thou shalt not pretend to reform schools by passing some spurious law where the intent is only to perpetuate the continued marginalization of this nation's children of color, the poor, and the different.
Commandment #2: Thou shalt not say that children are America's top priority when 20 percent of America's children live in poverty, 15 percent have no health insurance, and 13 children are killed by gunfire every single day.
Commandment #3: Thou shalt recognize that only public education has the potential to provide every child in America with a quality education. Therefore, thou shalt not abandon public schools, but redeem and strengthen them.
Commandment #4: Thou shalt not spend more money on prisons than on schools. The more quality schools you have the fewer prisons you'll need.
Commandment #5: Thou shalt not kid thyself that paying starting teachers $20,000 a year is any way to attract and retain the best and the brightest educators for our children. Thou shalt support future teachers--not insult them.
Commandment #6: Thou shalt respect every child as precious and capable of learning--inclusive of all areas of diversity including, race, ethnicity, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, socioeconomic status, language, disability, or immigration status.
Commandment #7: Thou shalt not attack teachers, especially when thou has not been in a classroom thyself for the last 35 years.
Commandment #8: Thou shalt honor not only teachers, but the people who drive the buses, clean the hallways, serve the lunches, counsel the students, take the attendance, nurse the injured, assist in the classrooms, teach the teachers and run our nation's schools with dignity and dedication and grace.
Commandment #9: Thou shalt recognize that quality education requires everybody in the multicultural education community to struggle against all forms of oppression, including racism, sexism, classism, linguicism, ablism, ageism, heterosexism, religious intolerance, and xenophobia.
Commandment #10: Thou shalt remember that public education must always be an immediate priority and a long-term investment. Schools must not be subjected to quick fixes or get-rich-quick schemes.
_____________________________________________________
The same people who can deny others everything are famous for refusing themselves nothing."
--Leigh Hunt
Monday, May 23, 2005
Bobby, Me and Jesus
I can't tell why it happens to me so often. It has become a joke in my family.
It happened to me just now.
My car was loaded down with recycle paper and clothing donations, so I decided to run up to our building on Haskell Avenue and clean out my vehicle before another week gets underway.
As I am unloading, "Bobby" walks up. Homeless, disabled, desperate--Bobby tries to communicate through his very challenging speech impediment.
I've talked to him several times before this evening. I know his story most likely as well as anyone in Dallas. Take it from me, that fact alone is enough to make me cry because I barely know Bobby.
Bobby has been on the street for many years. He has been beaten up, robbed, cast aside, chased away from just about everywhere and basically "flushed" by the larger community.
Bobby has a hard time just walking. He has a pin in one leg, the result of a severe beating by a group of young thugs.
I suspect Bobby has a substance abuse problem or has had one at some point in the past. I've never talked to him when he was drunk or "high."
I do know that Bobby has not received what he needs.
So, tonight Bobby hobbles up as I am unloading my car. I notice he is carrying everything he owns in a giant, unorganized wad.
"Hey, man," he half yells my way as he approaches. "Remember me?"
"Sure. I remember you, Bobby," I reply. "How are things with you?"
"I'm making it, man, with God's help," he answered. "But, I'm needing some change to get something to eat. I'm hungry, man."
Taking care of that request is easy. Thinking about what to do is the tough part.
I invited him to sleep behind our building under the protected parking cover. Why don't I have a better to offer him? Why don't I just take him home with me? Why don't I just "camp" here with him?
I have this feeling Jesus would have. Jesus lived a lot more like Bobby than like I live.
Of course, I've got all the right and respectable answers lined up on those questions. Only problem is, these are the questions that keep coming up for me.
It is true, we are working on this issue. Dallas needs to provide a livable space for Bobby and others like him. I am learning that as far as I am concerned, "Dallas" means me and my friends at Central Dallas Ministries. That is how we have to look at the matter.
I just hope we get it done in time. Bobby will die out on the streets of my hometown if we delay much longer. I know that for a fact.
I gave Bobby ten bucks for a meal knowing that he needed so much more. I think I know that Jesus would agree and he would look to me and many others like me who claim to be following him for some action and answers.
It happened to me just now.
My car was loaded down with recycle paper and clothing donations, so I decided to run up to our building on Haskell Avenue and clean out my vehicle before another week gets underway.
As I am unloading, "Bobby" walks up. Homeless, disabled, desperate--Bobby tries to communicate through his very challenging speech impediment.
I've talked to him several times before this evening. I know his story most likely as well as anyone in Dallas. Take it from me, that fact alone is enough to make me cry because I barely know Bobby.
Bobby has been on the street for many years. He has been beaten up, robbed, cast aside, chased away from just about everywhere and basically "flushed" by the larger community.
Bobby has a hard time just walking. He has a pin in one leg, the result of a severe beating by a group of young thugs.
I suspect Bobby has a substance abuse problem or has had one at some point in the past. I've never talked to him when he was drunk or "high."
I do know that Bobby has not received what he needs.
So, tonight Bobby hobbles up as I am unloading my car. I notice he is carrying everything he owns in a giant, unorganized wad.
"Hey, man," he half yells my way as he approaches. "Remember me?"
"Sure. I remember you, Bobby," I reply. "How are things with you?"
"I'm making it, man, with God's help," he answered. "But, I'm needing some change to get something to eat. I'm hungry, man."
Taking care of that request is easy. Thinking about what to do is the tough part.
I invited him to sleep behind our building under the protected parking cover. Why don't I have a better to offer him? Why don't I just take him home with me? Why don't I just "camp" here with him?
I have this feeling Jesus would have. Jesus lived a lot more like Bobby than like I live.
Of course, I've got all the right and respectable answers lined up on those questions. Only problem is, these are the questions that keep coming up for me.
It is true, we are working on this issue. Dallas needs to provide a livable space for Bobby and others like him. I am learning that as far as I am concerned, "Dallas" means me and my friends at Central Dallas Ministries. That is how we have to look at the matter.
I just hope we get it done in time. Bobby will die out on the streets of my hometown if we delay much longer. I know that for a fact.
I gave Bobby ten bucks for a meal knowing that he needed so much more. I think I know that Jesus would agree and he would look to me and many others like me who claim to be following him for some action and answers.
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Class and American Mobility
If you read The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal, likely you have noticed the recent articles on class in the United States and the impact it has on just about every aspect of life in our nation.
John Greenan, one of our lawyers and the Executive Director of our Community Development Corportation, pointed me to an extremely interesting web address that looks at the issues of class and mobility.
To take a look go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/national/
20050515_CLASS_GRAPHIC/index_03.html
As always, I would benefit from your responses.
_____________________________________
Personal note: a combination of factors have prevented me from writing on a daily basis this week. I hope to get back to the schedule next week. Thanks for hanging with me!
John Greenan, one of our lawyers and the Executive Director of our Community Development Corportation, pointed me to an extremely interesting web address that looks at the issues of class and mobility.
To take a look go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/national/
20050515_CLASS_GRAPHIC/index_03.html
As always, I would benefit from your responses.
_____________________________________
Personal note: a combination of factors have prevented me from writing on a daily basis this week. I hope to get back to the schedule next week. Thanks for hanging with me!
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
John Wiley Price, Civil Disobedience, Liquor Ads and Stores in the 'Hood
Several years ago Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price mounted a virtual one-man campaign in his South Dallas district against liquor billboards that pushed alcohol in the neighborhoods he represented.
I recall that the white folks in my north Dallas County, suburban church didn't get his point, nor did they appreciate his actions, even though few, if any, of them drank themselves.
Mr. Price "assaulted" the billboards with whitewash. That's right. He literally painted over the ads in protest.
Now, you must understand. Mr. Price is not anti-first amendment. He believes in our free market capitalism. He is not against advertisers, as far as I can ascertain.
His problem was proportion, density and placement.
He correctly noted that a disproportionate number of the liquor ads were placed in his part of the community. What would never have been allowed in such density in North Dallas seemed to be running unchecked among the people who elected him. Having exhausted all other channels of honest, reasonable dialogue, he took matters into his own hands. As I recall, he suffered the legal consequences gladly.
While you may not agree with his tactics (I actually saw him as a brave and savvy leader at the time), you must admire what he understood.
A recent study of 82 neighborhoods in four northern/central California cities revealed that the most economically deprived communities contained more places that sold alcohol than the least deprived, even though the more affluent areas housed more heavy drinkers (Marilyn Winkleby, Stanford Prevention Research Center).
This disproportionate clustering of such negative forces affects quality of life and health outcomes. The practice is also patently racist.
Mr. Price was right.
My white, tee-totaling friends who wrote him off as some sort of a lunatic just didn't get it.
Weak, unorganized communities routinely fall prey to mounting negative influences and powers that destine them to remain weak, ill and unhealthy.
Somehow communities need to come together across all the lines that divide us to insure that such marketing pathology is ended for the good of us all.
I recall that the white folks in my north Dallas County, suburban church didn't get his point, nor did they appreciate his actions, even though few, if any, of them drank themselves.
Mr. Price "assaulted" the billboards with whitewash. That's right. He literally painted over the ads in protest.
Now, you must understand. Mr. Price is not anti-first amendment. He believes in our free market capitalism. He is not against advertisers, as far as I can ascertain.
His problem was proportion, density and placement.
He correctly noted that a disproportionate number of the liquor ads were placed in his part of the community. What would never have been allowed in such density in North Dallas seemed to be running unchecked among the people who elected him. Having exhausted all other channels of honest, reasonable dialogue, he took matters into his own hands. As I recall, he suffered the legal consequences gladly.
While you may not agree with his tactics (I actually saw him as a brave and savvy leader at the time), you must admire what he understood.
A recent study of 82 neighborhoods in four northern/central California cities revealed that the most economically deprived communities contained more places that sold alcohol than the least deprived, even though the more affluent areas housed more heavy drinkers (Marilyn Winkleby, Stanford Prevention Research Center).
This disproportionate clustering of such negative forces affects quality of life and health outcomes. The practice is also patently racist.
Mr. Price was right.
My white, tee-totaling friends who wrote him off as some sort of a lunatic just didn't get it.
Weak, unorganized communities routinely fall prey to mounting negative influences and powers that destine them to remain weak, ill and unhealthy.
Somehow communities need to come together across all the lines that divide us to insure that such marketing pathology is ended for the good of us all.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
"Built Environment" and Health Realities (Disparities)
Where you live determines, in large measure, how well and how long you will live.
Over the past decade or so, substantive, scientific research has tackled the relationship between health outcomes and health disparities and the various realities of "built environments."
Built environment is simply how things are arranged, constructed and included in the spaces where we live.
For example, the presence or absence of sidewalks, bike paths, recreational areas, and parks determines influential health factors such as physical activity and the prevalence of diabetes, obesity, asthma, hypertension and depression.
". . .in those low-income areas that do not have such amenities, the threat of crime keeps people inside. Income segregation--the practice of housing the poor in discrete areas of a city--has also been linked with obesity and adverse mental health outcomes" (from Ernie Hood, "Dwelling Disparities: How Poor Housing Leads to Poor Health," in Environmental Health Perspectives, Volume 113, Number 5, May 2005).
Most poor communities, especially in inner city areas, suffer (literally) for a want of supermarkets and access to healthy foods at affordable prices.
Instead, convenience stores encourage smoking, fast food restaurants feed obesity and diabetes, and liquor stores drive up teen drinking and addiction.
Add in low-quality, often dilapidated housing with the accompanying lead poisoning, asthma triggers and mental health stressors, including violence and social isolation, and you have a formula for disease well above the norm of the larger community.
Hood concludes in the introduction to his important and distressing essay, "Low-income and/or ethnic minority communities--already burdened with greater rates of disease, limited access to health care, and other health disparities--are also the populations living with the worst built environment conditions. Studies have shown that negative aspects of the built environment tend to interact with and magnify health disparities, compounding already distressing conditions."
Lots here to ponder, huh?
One thing seems very clear: we can reasonably expect that dollars invested properly, strategically and wisely in urban environments will pay off not only in terms of improved aesthetics, but also in concrete community health outcomes, and that over the long haul.
Over the past decade or so, substantive, scientific research has tackled the relationship between health outcomes and health disparities and the various realities of "built environments."
Built environment is simply how things are arranged, constructed and included in the spaces where we live.
For example, the presence or absence of sidewalks, bike paths, recreational areas, and parks determines influential health factors such as physical activity and the prevalence of diabetes, obesity, asthma, hypertension and depression.
". . .in those low-income areas that do not have such amenities, the threat of crime keeps people inside. Income segregation--the practice of housing the poor in discrete areas of a city--has also been linked with obesity and adverse mental health outcomes" (from Ernie Hood, "Dwelling Disparities: How Poor Housing Leads to Poor Health," in Environmental Health Perspectives, Volume 113, Number 5, May 2005).
Most poor communities, especially in inner city areas, suffer (literally) for a want of supermarkets and access to healthy foods at affordable prices.
Instead, convenience stores encourage smoking, fast food restaurants feed obesity and diabetes, and liquor stores drive up teen drinking and addiction.
Add in low-quality, often dilapidated housing with the accompanying lead poisoning, asthma triggers and mental health stressors, including violence and social isolation, and you have a formula for disease well above the norm of the larger community.
Hood concludes in the introduction to his important and distressing essay, "Low-income and/or ethnic minority communities--already burdened with greater rates of disease, limited access to health care, and other health disparities--are also the populations living with the worst built environment conditions. Studies have shown that negative aspects of the built environment tend to interact with and magnify health disparities, compounding already distressing conditions."
Lots here to ponder, huh?
One thing seems very clear: we can reasonably expect that dollars invested properly, strategically and wisely in urban environments will pay off not only in terms of improved aesthetics, but also in concrete community health outcomes, and that over the long haul.
Friday, May 13, 2005
Thinking about Jesus
So, today I'm thinking about Jesus.
Hang with me here. My thoughts aren't all "holy" or filled with images of church or choirs or angels.
No, I'm thinking of the Jesus who seemed to specialize in "hanging out" with all sorts of people.
So much so that he made lots of powerful people nervous. Powerful religious people. Powerful political people. Powerful rich people.
The fact is you'd never really acquire an accurate understanding of Jesus by watching or listening to most churches.
Churches and their programs don't major in "hanging out." Most church members on their own don't either. Churches certainly don't encourage their members to spend time with the sort of folks Jesus did.
I'll take it a step further.
You'll never really arrive at a complete or true picture of Jesus by reading the apostle Paul.
Paul wrote more of the New Testament than any other author--at least that is the traditional claim. Paul writes lots about what he thought the life of Jesus meant. He doesn't spend much time on how Jesus spent his days.
If you read the gospels--Matthew, Mark, Luke and John--you get at least a glimpse of who Jesus was, what he did and who he spent his time with.
Most people who claim to follow him don't act much like he did.
Oh, they depend on him for their personal ticket to eternal life. But, as far as shaping their days as he did his, well, you can forget it.
Maybe that is okay.
But it would be refreshing to at least allow the very radical life of Jesus to inform the values and the attitudes of those who follow him, especially when it comes to how people should be treated, valued and heard.
Jesus was a radical dude.
Far out, off the charts radical.
He wasn't too comfortable in church. Or, maybe its more accurate to say when he was in church, most other folks weren't too comfortable!
He wasn't into the status quo.
He was far too inclusive not to raise eyebrows. Everyone, and I mean everyone, was welcome to be with him.
If he were alive today, he wouldn't be welcome in most churches. As a matter of fact, he wouldn't be recognized for who he really is.
I expect he would be ushered outside on a regular basis, especially when he started talking!
As my friend, James Walters (Professor of New Testament at Boston University) says, Jesus was a charismatic, itinerant revolutionary.
That's why he hung out so much!
He talked to everyone.
He reserved his judgment only for those who insisted on judging others and for those who felt self-sufficient before God and the pain of the world.
He touched everyone--including those declared by the powerful to be "untouchables." Lepers come to mind here, as do all the people and groups considered "outsiders" by the religious among us these days.
He elevated women, remembered widows, cherished children and argued for the poor as a very poor man himself.
He wasn't much into things . Fact of the matter is, he owned nothing.
Have you noticed? Jesus was always borrowing stuff. Food from the edges of grain fields, fish from lakes, meals at the tables of others, rooms and beds in the houses of others, a ride into Jerusalem on his last trip, even his final resting place was borrowed!
Yes, I'm thinking about Jesus today.
When I get discouraged, thinking about how he lived, who he was and what he was really like; well, it just keeps me going.
Hang with me here. My thoughts aren't all "holy" or filled with images of church or choirs or angels.
No, I'm thinking of the Jesus who seemed to specialize in "hanging out" with all sorts of people.
So much so that he made lots of powerful people nervous. Powerful religious people. Powerful political people. Powerful rich people.
The fact is you'd never really acquire an accurate understanding of Jesus by watching or listening to most churches.
Churches and their programs don't major in "hanging out." Most church members on their own don't either. Churches certainly don't encourage their members to spend time with the sort of folks Jesus did.
I'll take it a step further.
You'll never really arrive at a complete or true picture of Jesus by reading the apostle Paul.
Paul wrote more of the New Testament than any other author--at least that is the traditional claim. Paul writes lots about what he thought the life of Jesus meant. He doesn't spend much time on how Jesus spent his days.
If you read the gospels--Matthew, Mark, Luke and John--you get at least a glimpse of who Jesus was, what he did and who he spent his time with.
Most people who claim to follow him don't act much like he did.
Oh, they depend on him for their personal ticket to eternal life. But, as far as shaping their days as he did his, well, you can forget it.
Maybe that is okay.
But it would be refreshing to at least allow the very radical life of Jesus to inform the values and the attitudes of those who follow him, especially when it comes to how people should be treated, valued and heard.
Jesus was a radical dude.
Far out, off the charts radical.
He wasn't too comfortable in church. Or, maybe its more accurate to say when he was in church, most other folks weren't too comfortable!
He wasn't into the status quo.
He was far too inclusive not to raise eyebrows. Everyone, and I mean everyone, was welcome to be with him.
If he were alive today, he wouldn't be welcome in most churches. As a matter of fact, he wouldn't be recognized for who he really is.
I expect he would be ushered outside on a regular basis, especially when he started talking!
As my friend, James Walters (Professor of New Testament at Boston University) says, Jesus was a charismatic, itinerant revolutionary.
That's why he hung out so much!
He talked to everyone.
He reserved his judgment only for those who insisted on judging others and for those who felt self-sufficient before God and the pain of the world.
He touched everyone--including those declared by the powerful to be "untouchables." Lepers come to mind here, as do all the people and groups considered "outsiders" by the religious among us these days.
He elevated women, remembered widows, cherished children and argued for the poor as a very poor man himself.
He wasn't much into things . Fact of the matter is, he owned nothing.
Have you noticed? Jesus was always borrowing stuff. Food from the edges of grain fields, fish from lakes, meals at the tables of others, rooms and beds in the houses of others, a ride into Jerusalem on his last trip, even his final resting place was borrowed!
Yes, I'm thinking about Jesus today.
When I get discouraged, thinking about how he lived, who he was and what he was really like; well, it just keeps me going.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Cut the Deficit, Crush the Weak
Thanks to recent decisions in Washington, DC, the federal deficit is at an all-time high. The Congress wants to remedy that reality.
How to proceed?
You don't have to read further to know the answer, do you?
Cut the budget. Cut spending.
More specifically, cut spending on programs and benefits that touch those at the bottom of our society.
First up on the chopping block: Medicaid.
In Texas, Medicaid serves one of every three children.
The administration refuses to call its FY2006 budget plan for Medicaid a cut. They prefer to refer to their approach as an attempt to "slow the program's growth."
Semantics aside, the bottom line is clear. By 2010 Medicaid spending will decline by $10 billion.
Fifty-three million Americans use Medicaid as their insurance product.
Medicaid serves low-income people, uninsured children, pregnant women, low-income elderly and persons with chronic diseases and disabilities. The program pays for 50% of all nursing home care (35% of the program's spending) and 55% of all HIV/AIDS long-term care.
In Texas, 70% of the enrollees are children. Medicaid pays for 50% of all births in the state.
In other words, the weakest among us.
Enrollment has grown by 40% since 2000.
The Congress must find ways to trim the budget and its spending in order to protect and to make permanent the President's tax cuts. Our representatives will most likely leave $70 billion on the table by extending Mr. Bush's capital gains and dividend tax cuts alone.
To compensate for this loss of revenue, they will most likely cut health benefits to those who need it most and can afford it least.
The problem is complex, formidable and, unfortunately, enduring. As more and more Americans lose health care benefits and as the working, underclass grows, the problem escalates.
Current national health care policy pummels the urban poor. I see the results on a daily basis. They are not pretty.
As a people, we dig the ditch of poverty deeper.
Luke 10:25-37
How to proceed?
You don't have to read further to know the answer, do you?
Cut the budget. Cut spending.
More specifically, cut spending on programs and benefits that touch those at the bottom of our society.
First up on the chopping block: Medicaid.
In Texas, Medicaid serves one of every three children.
The administration refuses to call its FY2006 budget plan for Medicaid a cut. They prefer to refer to their approach as an attempt to "slow the program's growth."
Semantics aside, the bottom line is clear. By 2010 Medicaid spending will decline by $10 billion.
Fifty-three million Americans use Medicaid as their insurance product.
Medicaid serves low-income people, uninsured children, pregnant women, low-income elderly and persons with chronic diseases and disabilities. The program pays for 50% of all nursing home care (35% of the program's spending) and 55% of all HIV/AIDS long-term care.
In Texas, 70% of the enrollees are children. Medicaid pays for 50% of all births in the state.
In other words, the weakest among us.
Enrollment has grown by 40% since 2000.
The Congress must find ways to trim the budget and its spending in order to protect and to make permanent the President's tax cuts. Our representatives will most likely leave $70 billion on the table by extending Mr. Bush's capital gains and dividend tax cuts alone.
To compensate for this loss of revenue, they will most likely cut health benefits to those who need it most and can afford it least.
The problem is complex, formidable and, unfortunately, enduring. As more and more Americans lose health care benefits and as the working, underclass grows, the problem escalates.
Current national health care policy pummels the urban poor. I see the results on a daily basis. They are not pretty.
As a people, we dig the ditch of poverty deeper.
Luke 10:25-37
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Old, Ill or Hungry, and Poor. . .A Cruel "Balancing of the Books"
Just as the federal government gets a recruiting effort underway to convince low-income, elderly Americans to enroll in the new Medicare prescription drug benefit program, we receive a news flash from the Bush administration. You know, the "compassionate conservative" crowd.
The news is simple, harsh and, in many cases, downright cruel.
Seniors who sign up for the drug program will likely see their Food Stamps cut back.
Rationale: since these older Americans will spend less of their limited funds on medication, they will have more to spend on food and will not need the same level of support as before on grocery store purchases.
Does anyone in Washington understand poverty, even a little bit?
Does anyone know what life is like for low-income grandparents? How about widows and widowers whose income is just above, at or below the poverty level?
I think not.
Fact: elderly Americans--millions of them--choose each week whether to purchase food or medication.
Fact: an increased prescription drug benefit will not lessen the need for funds to buy food among this part of our population. The help with their meds will actually allow them to buy enough food to survive on, in some cases for the first time in years. If they realize a gain in net, basic benefit, is that really a bad thing? In this case value, health and hope is being added to lives!
Fact: more and more inner city residents who use our services here at Central Dallas Ministries are elderly. On the days we offer our monthly programs designed for this part of the community, our center is jammed packed with retired and aging Dallasites.
Come on, Mr. President. You can do better than this. I can promise you one thing for certain. The guy you are always claiming to follow as "Savior and Lord" understood compassion much differently than you do. As a matter of fact, he was never conservative with it. Not once.
After all, how many houses, cars, yachts, vacation escapes and dividends do the people at the top of our economy. . .you know, the ones made rich by the labor of some of these same elderly people. . .how much more do they really need?
James 1:27
The news is simple, harsh and, in many cases, downright cruel.
Seniors who sign up for the drug program will likely see their Food Stamps cut back.
Rationale: since these older Americans will spend less of their limited funds on medication, they will have more to spend on food and will not need the same level of support as before on grocery store purchases.
Does anyone in Washington understand poverty, even a little bit?
Does anyone know what life is like for low-income grandparents? How about widows and widowers whose income is just above, at or below the poverty level?
I think not.
Fact: elderly Americans--millions of them--choose each week whether to purchase food or medication.
Fact: an increased prescription drug benefit will not lessen the need for funds to buy food among this part of our population. The help with their meds will actually allow them to buy enough food to survive on, in some cases for the first time in years. If they realize a gain in net, basic benefit, is that really a bad thing? In this case value, health and hope is being added to lives!
Fact: more and more inner city residents who use our services here at Central Dallas Ministries are elderly. On the days we offer our monthly programs designed for this part of the community, our center is jammed packed with retired and aging Dallasites.
Come on, Mr. President. You can do better than this. I can promise you one thing for certain. The guy you are always claiming to follow as "Savior and Lord" understood compassion much differently than you do. As a matter of fact, he was never conservative with it. Not once.
After all, how many houses, cars, yachts, vacation escapes and dividends do the people at the top of our economy. . .you know, the ones made rich by the labor of some of these same elderly people. . .how much more do they really need?
James 1:27
Sunday, May 08, 2005
A Mother's Day Story
Since the link posted yesterday to The Dallas Morning News' Viewpoints page didn't seem to be working for everyone, I decided to post the entire essay written by my friend and co-worker, Daisy Rivera.
The essay appeared in Saturday's edition of the paper (7 May 2005).
Daisy's story is amazing. I believe it will inspire you as it does me.
__________________________________
Mothers and role models
Growing up as a poor Latina in inner-city Dallas, I was expected by many to take one of two paths. The first involved getting a boyfriend and becoming pregnant by about age 16, then dropping out of school to care for the baby while my parents supported me. The other commonly assumed path for young, poor Latinas – and Latinos – is to begin skipping school in junior high to get high with friends, then eventually drop out.
I chose neither path. As an 18-year-old enrolled part-time in college and working full-time as the main breadwinner for myself, my mother and my sisters, you could say I prevailed against the tide that has swept many of my Latina friends into adult lives of poverty, single motherhood and lack of education. Rates of poverty for single Latinas are very high in Dallas, and dropout rates are the highest among Latinos, compared to blacks and whites.
But my choice not to go down a destructive path did not happen on my own. Without several key mentors and the support of an East Dallas social justice organization, I might have easily made the wrong choice. It would have been very easy.
As a 12-year-old, I lived with my family in extreme poverty, which explains how I ended up working as a dishwasher to help Mom make the rent. Poverty makes it tough to get bills paid and food on the table – and it magnifies the usual family problems by 10. The difficulties that my mom had with our stepfathers quickly spread into the lives of my sisters and me, with violence that no children – let alone my mother – should ever have to endure.
Watching severe alcoholism and physical abuse happen in front of your face, and trying to stop it, matures a kid fast. I recall at the age of 7 caring for my three sisters by changing diapers, making bottles and teaching them right from wrong.
It was after our home burned down that my mother, sisters and I went to Central Dallas Ministries, a community development and social justice organization in East Dallas. We went for clothes and food. We came away with enough compassion and concern to pull us through our tough times.
One CDM volunteer who became my mentor found out that I was washing dishes and, when I turned 15, offered me a part-time job at the CDM food pantry, making more money and learning computer skills. The pantry director was flexible on my hours so I could work around my school schedule to earn the money my family and I needed.
Several strong Hispanic and black women on the CDM staff were role models to me. Besides showing me that women who looked like me could be professional and respected, they asked me about my future school and career plans in a way that made me want to succeed. It wasn't "If you graduate from high school and go to college." It was "When you graduate from high school and go to college."
While working at the pantry throughout high school, I excelled in school, earning good grades, becoming a leader in Junior ROTC and being voted into student council.
I graduated last year and attend El Centro Community College while still working full-time at the pantry. I enjoy reaching out to people who remind me of myself and my mother when we came to the organization.
I have an apartment, where my mother and sister also live, and I am proud to be able to support them. I even manage to save a little, which will help me when I attend a four-year college next year.
Some of my savings are going toward a special gift for Mother's Day, which we Latinos will celebrate Tuesday. My mother's "dream" has been to have a large, framed photo of me at last year's graduation.
I cannot wait to give her that special gift. To her, it is a symbol of me finding the right path. And I have no doubt that one day, if I have children, they will, too – because I did.
But it might have been impossible without the right help. That's easy for people who don't understand where I come from to forget.
[Eighteen-year-old college student Daisy Rivera works at the Central Dallas Ministries food pantry and resource center. Her e-mail address is azulcielo04@yahoo.com. ]
The essay appeared in Saturday's edition of the paper (7 May 2005).
Daisy's story is amazing. I believe it will inspire you as it does me.
__________________________________
Mothers and role models
Growing up as a poor Latina in inner-city Dallas, I was expected by many to take one of two paths. The first involved getting a boyfriend and becoming pregnant by about age 16, then dropping out of school to care for the baby while my parents supported me. The other commonly assumed path for young, poor Latinas – and Latinos – is to begin skipping school in junior high to get high with friends, then eventually drop out.
I chose neither path. As an 18-year-old enrolled part-time in college and working full-time as the main breadwinner for myself, my mother and my sisters, you could say I prevailed against the tide that has swept many of my Latina friends into adult lives of poverty, single motherhood and lack of education. Rates of poverty for single Latinas are very high in Dallas, and dropout rates are the highest among Latinos, compared to blacks and whites.
But my choice not to go down a destructive path did not happen on my own. Without several key mentors and the support of an East Dallas social justice organization, I might have easily made the wrong choice. It would have been very easy.
As a 12-year-old, I lived with my family in extreme poverty, which explains how I ended up working as a dishwasher to help Mom make the rent. Poverty makes it tough to get bills paid and food on the table – and it magnifies the usual family problems by 10. The difficulties that my mom had with our stepfathers quickly spread into the lives of my sisters and me, with violence that no children – let alone my mother – should ever have to endure.
Watching severe alcoholism and physical abuse happen in front of your face, and trying to stop it, matures a kid fast. I recall at the age of 7 caring for my three sisters by changing diapers, making bottles and teaching them right from wrong.
It was after our home burned down that my mother, sisters and I went to Central Dallas Ministries, a community development and social justice organization in East Dallas. We went for clothes and food. We came away with enough compassion and concern to pull us through our tough times.
One CDM volunteer who became my mentor found out that I was washing dishes and, when I turned 15, offered me a part-time job at the CDM food pantry, making more money and learning computer skills. The pantry director was flexible on my hours so I could work around my school schedule to earn the money my family and I needed.
Several strong Hispanic and black women on the CDM staff were role models to me. Besides showing me that women who looked like me could be professional and respected, they asked me about my future school and career plans in a way that made me want to succeed. It wasn't "If you graduate from high school and go to college." It was "When you graduate from high school and go to college."
While working at the pantry throughout high school, I excelled in school, earning good grades, becoming a leader in Junior ROTC and being voted into student council.
I graduated last year and attend El Centro Community College while still working full-time at the pantry. I enjoy reaching out to people who remind me of myself and my mother when we came to the organization.
I have an apartment, where my mother and sister also live, and I am proud to be able to support them. I even manage to save a little, which will help me when I attend a four-year college next year.
Some of my savings are going toward a special gift for Mother's Day, which we Latinos will celebrate Tuesday. My mother's "dream" has been to have a large, framed photo of me at last year's graduation.
I cannot wait to give her that special gift. To her, it is a symbol of me finding the right path. And I have no doubt that one day, if I have children, they will, too – because I did.
But it might have been impossible without the right help. That's easy for people who don't understand where I come from to forget.
[Eighteen-year-old college student Daisy Rivera works at the Central Dallas Ministries food pantry and resource center. Her e-mail address is azulcielo04@yahoo.com. ]
Saturday, May 07, 2005
Poverty, Mother's Day and Hope
Need a lift this Mother's Day weekend?
Take the time to read the essay in The Dallas Morning News (Viewpoints page, Saturday, May 7, 2005) written by my friend and co-worker, Daisy Rivera.
I promise it will touch your heart, lift your soul and give you real hope.
Here's the link:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/
viewpoints/stories/050705dnedirivera.816d85e8.html
It will be worth your time to read her words.
The power of genuine community is a wonder to behold!
Great work, Daisy!
Take the time to read the essay in The Dallas Morning News (Viewpoints page, Saturday, May 7, 2005) written by my friend and co-worker, Daisy Rivera.
I promise it will touch your heart, lift your soul and give you real hope.
Here's the link:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/
viewpoints/stories/050705dnedirivera.816d85e8.html
It will be worth your time to read her words.
The power of genuine community is a wonder to behold!
Great work, Daisy!
Friday, May 06, 2005
More Truth from Archbishop Romero
A 20th centruy martyr, Oscar Romero spoke the truth of Jesus to the power of the world, his world in El Salvador.
Romero always spoke with his people, out of their pain. He surprised his superiors in the church because he was controlled only by the word of the Gospel.
People who answer only to the Gospel turn out to be dangerous people.
Romero was a dangerous man. He was a man of liberation speaking to a world of material, political and social bondage.
Today people wonder how it is that we can draw near to God. Yet, few ask how it is that God might draw near to us.
Romero always got the questions right. No wonder his answers followed naturally.
_______________________________________
There is one rule by which to judge if God is near us
or is far away--
the rule that God's word is giving us today:
everyone concerned for the hungry, the naked, the poor,
for those who have vanished in police custody,
for the tortured,
for prisoners,
for all flesh that suffers,
has God close at hand.
Isaiah 58:7-10; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; Matthew 5:13-16
(February 5, 1978, The Violence of Love, page 34)
Romero always spoke with his people, out of their pain. He surprised his superiors in the church because he was controlled only by the word of the Gospel.
People who answer only to the Gospel turn out to be dangerous people.
Romero was a dangerous man. He was a man of liberation speaking to a world of material, political and social bondage.
Today people wonder how it is that we can draw near to God. Yet, few ask how it is that God might draw near to us.
Romero always got the questions right. No wonder his answers followed naturally.
_______________________________________
There is one rule by which to judge if God is near us
or is far away--
the rule that God's word is giving us today:
everyone concerned for the hungry, the naked, the poor,
for those who have vanished in police custody,
for the tortured,
for prisoners,
for all flesh that suffers,
has God close at hand.
Isaiah 58:7-10; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; Matthew 5:13-16
(February 5, 1978, The Violence of Love, page 34)
Thursday, May 05, 2005
Marriage As Economic Development???
Last week Michael Leavitt, U. S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, visited Central Dallas Ministries' Transition Resource Action Center (TRAC)--our program area that works with youth in Dallas who "age out" of the foster care system annually. We've established working relationships with over 600 of these special young people in the last year.
Leavitt chose our center as the location for a press conference of sorts to announce the next round of funding for the Compassion Capital Fund.
Next year Health and Human Services in cooperation with the White House Office for Faith-based and Community Initiatives will offer capacity building grants totaling over $31 million to organizations like ours. Last year CDM received a small sub-grant award to improve our website and to strengthen our organizational infrastructure. Helpful, but not revolutionary by any means.
Mr. Leavitt seemed to be a really nice guy. He was moved by the stories and the progress of the youth he met at the center.
Still, as he spoke, I wondered just how much a person from Utah (actually, the former governor) can understand about urban America. I wondered how he was selected as the head of one of the most important government agencies to poor, urban people--1 out of every 4 federal dollars spent comes from his shop.
Seemed strange to me.
Among other things the Secretary informed us that next year the President is asking Congress for an additional $100 million for efforts with faith-based organizations. What he failed to fully explain is the fact that much of the new funding will be devoted to programs to encourage and strengthen marriages in America.
Most of this work will be done by churches and other faith-based organizations.
Think about that for a moment.
What's new here? Churches have always taught their members about marriage and the importance of family life. Right?
One thing that is new is the fact that the government will be paying churches and faith groups to do what they have always done for free--or almost free.
I guess the assumption is that churches will be able to attract lots of new people with programs so that marriages can be made stronger, especially in low-income neighborhoods.
Is this a good use of tax dollars?
What church would turn away people from the community who wanted to attend a class or seminar on marriage? Seems to me that good churches will offer this service whether you pay them to or not.
Another seldom appreciated reality is the fact that churches typically just don't reach poor people with their programs. No matter what the location of the neighborhood, but especially in low-income communities, the poor just don't come to church. So, where will these instructional sessions be staged to actually reach low-income folks who we assume will have the time to devote to improving their marriages?
As I am thinking about the city I know best, I begin to wonder if people are poor because they don't know enough about marriage? Or, are people who are poor often in troubled relationships--marriages and parenting--because they are financially swamped?
My experience tells me it is the latter.
Think about it.
Let's say that I am a working father with a wife and two children.
Together our annual gross wages are under $30,000. That is what a couple would earn before taxes with one minimum wage job and one job paying just under twice the minimum wage.
We pay right at 35% of our income for housing. Transportation, clothing, food, health costs, and education expenses gobble up what's left.
In short, we live on the edge all of the time.
What would be most effective at strengthening our marriage and family life?
Twelve sessions at a church on how to be a better husband or wife, complete with a notebook, outside reading and take-home, relationship-building assignments?
Or, the opportunity to improve our employment skills and increase our earning power?
Would it be a marriage enrichment weekend three times a year?
Or, would it be better to have an opportunity to enroll in community college in special evening and weekend classes that allowed me to keep my day job while working on technology certification that would increase my take home pay by 30-40% over the next three years?
Is what I really need a series of taped sermons on fatherhood and marriage?
Or, would it be better if Congress decided to restore funding for the Earned Income Credit program that rewards me for work, provides me a tax return and encourages me to get more education, pay off some debt or move to a better housing situation?
The trend today in the United States is to champion what upper middle class church folks believe would solve all the problems of the poor and of the cities.
People in the day-to-day thick of life at or near the bottom know and understand a completely different reality.
Politicians would do well to listen to the experts in this case.
Leavitt chose our center as the location for a press conference of sorts to announce the next round of funding for the Compassion Capital Fund.
Next year Health and Human Services in cooperation with the White House Office for Faith-based and Community Initiatives will offer capacity building grants totaling over $31 million to organizations like ours. Last year CDM received a small sub-grant award to improve our website and to strengthen our organizational infrastructure. Helpful, but not revolutionary by any means.
Mr. Leavitt seemed to be a really nice guy. He was moved by the stories and the progress of the youth he met at the center.
Still, as he spoke, I wondered just how much a person from Utah (actually, the former governor) can understand about urban America. I wondered how he was selected as the head of one of the most important government agencies to poor, urban people--1 out of every 4 federal dollars spent comes from his shop.
Seemed strange to me.
Among other things the Secretary informed us that next year the President is asking Congress for an additional $100 million for efforts with faith-based organizations. What he failed to fully explain is the fact that much of the new funding will be devoted to programs to encourage and strengthen marriages in America.
Most of this work will be done by churches and other faith-based organizations.
Think about that for a moment.
What's new here? Churches have always taught their members about marriage and the importance of family life. Right?
One thing that is new is the fact that the government will be paying churches and faith groups to do what they have always done for free--or almost free.
I guess the assumption is that churches will be able to attract lots of new people with programs so that marriages can be made stronger, especially in low-income neighborhoods.
Is this a good use of tax dollars?
What church would turn away people from the community who wanted to attend a class or seminar on marriage? Seems to me that good churches will offer this service whether you pay them to or not.
Another seldom appreciated reality is the fact that churches typically just don't reach poor people with their programs. No matter what the location of the neighborhood, but especially in low-income communities, the poor just don't come to church. So, where will these instructional sessions be staged to actually reach low-income folks who we assume will have the time to devote to improving their marriages?
As I am thinking about the city I know best, I begin to wonder if people are poor because they don't know enough about marriage? Or, are people who are poor often in troubled relationships--marriages and parenting--because they are financially swamped?
My experience tells me it is the latter.
Think about it.
Let's say that I am a working father with a wife and two children.
Together our annual gross wages are under $30,000. That is what a couple would earn before taxes with one minimum wage job and one job paying just under twice the minimum wage.
We pay right at 35% of our income for housing. Transportation, clothing, food, health costs, and education expenses gobble up what's left.
In short, we live on the edge all of the time.
What would be most effective at strengthening our marriage and family life?
Twelve sessions at a church on how to be a better husband or wife, complete with a notebook, outside reading and take-home, relationship-building assignments?
Or, the opportunity to improve our employment skills and increase our earning power?
Would it be a marriage enrichment weekend three times a year?
Or, would it be better to have an opportunity to enroll in community college in special evening and weekend classes that allowed me to keep my day job while working on technology certification that would increase my take home pay by 30-40% over the next three years?
Is what I really need a series of taped sermons on fatherhood and marriage?
Or, would it be better if Congress decided to restore funding for the Earned Income Credit program that rewards me for work, provides me a tax return and encourages me to get more education, pay off some debt or move to a better housing situation?
The trend today in the United States is to champion what upper middle class church folks believe would solve all the problems of the poor and of the cities.
People in the day-to-day thick of life at or near the bottom know and understand a completely different reality.
Politicians would do well to listen to the experts in this case.
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Oscar Romero
Maria-Jose Recinos serves Central Dallas Ministries as Chief Operating Officer. She is a visionary leader who understands the community and its struggle.
Maria-Jose was well-prepared for the work she is doing today by the pastor of her youth in El Salvador, Archbishop Oscar Romero. She listened to him preach every week as a young girl. She was in the community the day he was assassinated, struck down by guns paid for by American tax dollars.
As the government death squads ravaged her beloved country, she literally fled for her life.
She has many stories to tell about this great leader of her people.
It is important to understand the meaning behind some of Romero's words, as well as the emphasis of his message. For example, when he speaks of sin and the gospel, he does not have in mind the use of four-letter words or drinking alcohol! No, for him sin has to do with breaking the great commandment by not loving God or our fellows. Sin is about violence, injustice and oppression. It has to do with the misuse of power, the temptations of selfishness and the unfair manipulation of circumstances and people.
From time to time I will be sharing from the homolies and sermons of Romero. His message is important. It is true. This explains why it still sounds so relevant today.
______________________________________________
A preaching that does not point out sin
is not the preaching of the gospel.
A preaching that makes sinners feel good,
so that they become entrenched in their sinful state,
betrays the gospel's call.
A preaching that does not discomfit sinners
but lulls them in their sin
leaves Zebulun and Naphtali
in the shadow of death.*
A preaching that awakens,
a preaching that enlightens--
as when a light turned on
awakens and of course annoys a sleeper--
that is the preaching of Christ, calling:
Wake up! Be converted!
That is the church's authentic preaching.
Naturally, such preaching must meet conflict,
must spoil what is miscalled prestige,
must disturb,
must be persecuted.
It cannot get along with the powers of darkness and sin.
(January 22, 1978,The Violence of Love, page 32)
*To understand this reference see Matthew 4:15-16 and Isaiah 9:1-2
Maria-Jose was well-prepared for the work she is doing today by the pastor of her youth in El Salvador, Archbishop Oscar Romero. She listened to him preach every week as a young girl. She was in the community the day he was assassinated, struck down by guns paid for by American tax dollars.
As the government death squads ravaged her beloved country, she literally fled for her life.
She has many stories to tell about this great leader of her people.
It is important to understand the meaning behind some of Romero's words, as well as the emphasis of his message. For example, when he speaks of sin and the gospel, he does not have in mind the use of four-letter words or drinking alcohol! No, for him sin has to do with breaking the great commandment by not loving God or our fellows. Sin is about violence, injustice and oppression. It has to do with the misuse of power, the temptations of selfishness and the unfair manipulation of circumstances and people.
From time to time I will be sharing from the homolies and sermons of Romero. His message is important. It is true. This explains why it still sounds so relevant today.
______________________________________________
A preaching that does not point out sin
is not the preaching of the gospel.
A preaching that makes sinners feel good,
so that they become entrenched in their sinful state,
betrays the gospel's call.
A preaching that does not discomfit sinners
but lulls them in their sin
leaves Zebulun and Naphtali
in the shadow of death.*
A preaching that awakens,
a preaching that enlightens--
as when a light turned on
awakens and of course annoys a sleeper--
that is the preaching of Christ, calling:
Wake up! Be converted!
That is the church's authentic preaching.
Naturally, such preaching must meet conflict,
must spoil what is miscalled prestige,
must disturb,
must be persecuted.
It cannot get along with the powers of darkness and sin.
(January 22, 1978,The Violence of Love, page 32)
*To understand this reference see Matthew 4:15-16 and Isaiah 9:1-2
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
When Charity Doesn't Work Anymore. . .
Recently, at a rather large community meeting, I happen to be seated by one of the most important and influential foundation leaders in Texas.
As we visited before the meeting got underway, the issue of affordable housing and community development came up.
Seated in front of me and to my other side were two of the most successful low-income, workforce housing developers in Dallas. Both work their hearts out to see that as many low-income families here in Dallas as possible have a decent place to call home.
My foundation friend commented, "When non-profit organizations become real estate developers, I just don't understand. I never know how to react or what to say."
At that point, I didn't know what to say.
"Well, community development organizations go where market rate developers just won't go," I tried to begin an explanation.
I turned to my friend on my right and asked him how many units he had developed in his target area in one of the toughest parts of inner city South Dallas.
He reported that they had built almost 500 units in an area where new development just never happened until he began.
I continued by asking him if market-rate developers were showing up now that he had done so much new work.
He smiled and answered simply, "You bet!"
I continued explaining to my foundation friend that community development organizations often "seeded" neighborhoods with hope and promise by developing new housing so that others would follow, drawn in by new and recovering markets.
He seemed to like that, but he was still concerned that such non-profits may be "losing their" way by abandoning more "traditional charity" for the work of community and economic development.
I hurriedly agreed that there was a huge and demonstrable difference between charity and community development. Charity alone will never renew a neighborhood and seldom will change a life. Much more is required.
After a long pause, he changed the subject.
At that point I found myself sitting there wondering how the leader of one of the most important foundations in the state didn't understand the basics of community development or the cutting edge learning going on in cities all across the nation.
Possibly I have stumbled upon part of the problem we are having in Dallas.
What are the "take aways" here for people who are serious about changing communities and renewing neighborhoods?
1) Funders and donors love charity. "Helping people" is the name of the most popular game in town. Think about it. People with problems continue to present their "issues." People with money and, thus, power maintain control of both, parceling it out at a rate in keeping with their good judgment. At the same time they get a tax break for doing so!
2) Inner city communities need and desire much more than charity. What is needed is structural change. Market forces must be harnessed for the good of devastated areas, that is if we really want to see things change.
Public policy decisions need to be made to reward pioneer, for-profit developers--after all, we do it all the time in other parts of town!
The same public rules need to incentivize non-profit developers who are willing to go where no sane market developers are prepared to go, at least not at the beginning edges of renewal.
3) At some point we just need to apply the "golden rule." If you were very poor, what would you desire? Another handout--just one more in an endless stream of handouts that justified the work of some foundation? Or would you want a chance to see life be better, thanks to your hard work and to systemic change in how opportunity works in a community? The answer is pretty obvious, huh?
4) We must move from a "do-good, give away" model to a community investment model. People who have lots of money to give away need to re-think their strategy. Foundations need to invest their funds where they will do the most good, enjoy sustainable results and change life for as many people as possible.
For years foundations and donors have been telling organizations like Central Dallas Ministries that we must find ways to insure that our work will continue.
So, don't get upset with us when we do it!
Developing affordable housing can actually work from an economic standpoint. Our deals cash flow!
The only difference in our work and those in the for-profit sector is that our "profit" goes back into the organization to do more good work while we wait for the market developers to catch up and catch on to the real opportunities that await them in the inner city!
Isaiah 58:12
As we visited before the meeting got underway, the issue of affordable housing and community development came up.
Seated in front of me and to my other side were two of the most successful low-income, workforce housing developers in Dallas. Both work their hearts out to see that as many low-income families here in Dallas as possible have a decent place to call home.
My foundation friend commented, "When non-profit organizations become real estate developers, I just don't understand. I never know how to react or what to say."
At that point, I didn't know what to say.
"Well, community development organizations go where market rate developers just won't go," I tried to begin an explanation.
I turned to my friend on my right and asked him how many units he had developed in his target area in one of the toughest parts of inner city South Dallas.
He reported that they had built almost 500 units in an area where new development just never happened until he began.
I continued by asking him if market-rate developers were showing up now that he had done so much new work.
He smiled and answered simply, "You bet!"
I continued explaining to my foundation friend that community development organizations often "seeded" neighborhoods with hope and promise by developing new housing so that others would follow, drawn in by new and recovering markets.
He seemed to like that, but he was still concerned that such non-profits may be "losing their" way by abandoning more "traditional charity" for the work of community and economic development.
I hurriedly agreed that there was a huge and demonstrable difference between charity and community development. Charity alone will never renew a neighborhood and seldom will change a life. Much more is required.
After a long pause, he changed the subject.
At that point I found myself sitting there wondering how the leader of one of the most important foundations in the state didn't understand the basics of community development or the cutting edge learning going on in cities all across the nation.
Possibly I have stumbled upon part of the problem we are having in Dallas.
What are the "take aways" here for people who are serious about changing communities and renewing neighborhoods?
1) Funders and donors love charity. "Helping people" is the name of the most popular game in town. Think about it. People with problems continue to present their "issues." People with money and, thus, power maintain control of both, parceling it out at a rate in keeping with their good judgment. At the same time they get a tax break for doing so!
2) Inner city communities need and desire much more than charity. What is needed is structural change. Market forces must be harnessed for the good of devastated areas, that is if we really want to see things change.
Public policy decisions need to be made to reward pioneer, for-profit developers--after all, we do it all the time in other parts of town!
The same public rules need to incentivize non-profit developers who are willing to go where no sane market developers are prepared to go, at least not at the beginning edges of renewal.
3) At some point we just need to apply the "golden rule." If you were very poor, what would you desire? Another handout--just one more in an endless stream of handouts that justified the work of some foundation? Or would you want a chance to see life be better, thanks to your hard work and to systemic change in how opportunity works in a community? The answer is pretty obvious, huh?
4) We must move from a "do-good, give away" model to a community investment model. People who have lots of money to give away need to re-think their strategy. Foundations need to invest their funds where they will do the most good, enjoy sustainable results and change life for as many people as possible.
For years foundations and donors have been telling organizations like Central Dallas Ministries that we must find ways to insure that our work will continue.
So, don't get upset with us when we do it!
Developing affordable housing can actually work from an economic standpoint. Our deals cash flow!
The only difference in our work and those in the for-profit sector is that our "profit" goes back into the organization to do more good work while we wait for the market developers to catch up and catch on to the real opportunities that await them in the inner city!
Isaiah 58:12
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)